


Wicked Schemes

by willowaus



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-11 02:05:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 265,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4416884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowaus/pseuds/willowaus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Old family secrets lead Caroline on a journey of self-discovery and into the dark underbelly of New Orleans as Klaus works to reclaim his kingdom and rebuild the family he's slowly destroyed over the centuries. A TVD/The Originals crossover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to try and put this up on AO3. We shall see how this goes.

_I know you're torn_  
_And in between dreams  
_ _But it's all you've ever known_

* * *

 

There was something to be said for silence, and while Caroline might usually be one to fill it up, spouting off about who even knew what to hear something, anything other than nothing, walking arm in arm away from the now discarded graduation cap and gown, she found herself with absolutely nothing to say. No words were needed, though her mind was ablaze with a thousand of them, ranging from delight at the thought of Tyler being allowed to return to concern over how Bonnie must be doing with putting the veil back up. But there was little reason to voice any of them. The Hybrid walking beside her probably already knew some of them and she doubted he wanted to hear the rest of them. Certainly not the ones about Tyler.

Arm tucked carefully into Klaus', she didn't worry about the fact that there were a dozen hybrids, witches, and who even knew how many more ghosts out there wanting their revenge. The veil had fallen, and any supernatural being that had died and was on the Other Side had a chance of crossing over. Most seemed to be out for revenge, only a handful wanting to spend time with those they had been forced to leave behind. Before the fateful massacre in the woods only weeks before, Caroline's death toll could be counted on her hands, but the hybrid walking beside her had an unimaginable one at his own feet and she could only imagine how many of them were seeking justice.

Though, considering how easily he had taken out the one witch and scared off the others, maybe none of his previous kills were foolish enough to come back around for a rematch.

"What are your plans for the night, love? Isn't it customary for there to be some sort of celebration after these ceremonies?" Klaus asked, breaking her from her reverie.

A year ago there would have been a party planned. Something to continue the joy that graduating from high school was bringing herself and all of her friends. After the last year or so though, the simple fact they had all managed to graduate was enough and everyone was off doing their separate things. "Elena is spending time with Alaric and Jeremy before they're gone again. Same with Stefan and his friend Lexi. I think Damon is on bury Silas duty and Bonnie is lifting the veil back up."

This left only her and Matt unaccounted for, but her ex had slipped away and Caroline had a feeling he wanted to be alone after the chaos of the day. There hadn't been any sign of Vicki or her father and she wasn't sure what that meant. She'd check in on him tomorrow. "And your mother?" Klaus continued, pace slowing and Caroline realized they were nearing the parking lot.

"She got called in. We're doing our own celebration tomorrow morning over chocolate chip pancakes." Or that was at least the plan. Hopefully Mystic Falls would spare her mother for the few hours that would take. Caroline had a feeling her mother might make a point to put aside duty for an hour or two for breakfast. Especially if Silas was in the ground and the ghosts were no longer an issue.

They had stopped walking, feet straddling between the pavement and grass and she slipped her arm out of his own, but didn't move further away than that. It hadn't been that long ago when she would have deliberately put as much distance as she could between them, when she would have verbally sparred little attacks in his direction to keep him away. Now she was accepting his offered arm and allowing kisses on her cheek. Granted, she hadn't quite expected that, but three months earlier and she would've tried to break his nose for such a bold move. Now, she should bid him good night and get into her car and head home to...well, that was the thing, wasn't it? What was she going to go home and do?

Yes, Tyler was being allowed back to Mystic Falls, but Caroline highly doubted her boyfriend was already waiting for her at her house and considering he had not answered any of her phone calls, not even after seeing her for prom, she didn't think he'd start doing so now. So what harm could there be in drawing out this conversation for a few more minutes before she headed home to curl up on the couch and relax with a tub of ice cream.

"How long are you back for?" It was hard not to notice the slight arch of his brow and the pleased smile that graced his lips at her question.

"Just for the night. I leave tomorrow afternoon," Klaus informed her, nodding toward his car. "Tying up a few loose ends in the morning and then I'll be headed back to New Orleans." She nodded, not really expecting anything less. He had a new home now. It wasn't as though Mystic Falls had much left to offer him. Not like she imagined a place such as New Orleans would. "Now, considering all of the excitement today, supernatural and otherwise, I'm going to wager you haven't eaten and as this is my last night in this little town and your friends are all occupied, what do you say to joining me for dinner?"

Caroline blinked. Whatever she had been anticipating, it certainly hadn't been that, and for the life of her she was having a hard time coming up with a reason to deny the request. Empty house and a tub of ice cream or conversation and real food?

Was it really even a contest?

"Why not?" she grinned, quickly checking her phone to make sure no one had been trying to reach her and sent a quick text to her mother in case she got back to the house after her, before looking back at Klaus. Her cheeks reddened a little at how pleased he seemed by her answer. "Gives me time to work on getting you to buy me that mini fridge. One of those fridge and microwave combos would get you the most bang for your buck."

He laughed at that, leading her toward his car and twenty minutes later they were seated at a table in the only Italian restaurant in Mystic Falls. Chains didn't do well in the small town, not when the small business owners had been around forever and everyone was big on small town loyalty. The restaurant had been around longer than Caroline had been alive, probably established before her own mother's birth, but she could only remember eating there a handful of times. All of them associated with her father's mother before she had passed away when Caroline was eight.

The waiter was taking their drink orders and Caroline shook her head as Klaus ordered wine. "Coke, please," she informed the boy she was sure had graduated a few years before her at school. Klaus didn't comment, but she could just sense his amusement at her order and couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Sheriff's daughter. They'll definitely notice here and I may be done with high school now, but I'm still well below the whole legally allowed to drink age."

"I believe that's what compulsion is for," he pointed out, unraveling his silverware from the cloth napkin. "The trivialities of human law can only bound you as long as you let them."

"In the town where my mother  _is_  the law, I think I'll let them keep binding me until I leave." She smoothed her own napkin down on her lap, glancing out at the other patrons, pursing her lips at the fact everyone else seemed to be on a date. Which this was most certainly not.

"And when will that be?" he asked, leaning back in his chair, gaze fixed on her as he raised his wine glass to his lips.

The sight of red liquid so near his mouth, that she had now felt against her own skin-albeit not her lips, though that didn't really stop her from knowing how soft they felt on skin-was throwing her mind for a loop, and she blinked, not quite grasping his question. Caroline busied herself with the bread basket, needing a distraction from his stare. He always had this way of looking at her like he could see right inside of her and it was unnerving. Not that she liked letting him know that. "When will what be?"

From the smirk on his face when he set down his glass, she didn't think she was succeeding. "You said you would continue on allowing the laws to bind you until you leave. When will that be?"

"Oh. College. So after the summer. I'll be living there and isn't that when most girls my age start on the whole rebellion stage?" That was how it worked in the movies and TV shows she'd watched. College was the time to let loose. And after carefully, meticulously, completing high school and making sure she experienced all it had to offer, Caroline figured it was only fair she do the same for college.

"What about during the summer? You plan to stay once again in Mystic Falls." He was still watching her, his gaze never moving elsewhere, and Caroline continued to ignore it, focusing on buttering the bread she had chosen.

"Well, I'm not going down to New Orleans if that's what you're angling for," she informed him, pointing the butter knife in his direction and he held up his hands. "I want to spend time with my mom. Maybe get her to relax for a weekend or two and I don't know. It's the summer. I don't need to have plans. I can wing it." Theoretically at least. "It's our last summer before we're all going off into the great unknown. So spend time with my friends before our lives change even more than they already have. I think it's a brilliant plan."

She really didn't want to continue to talk about her nonexistent plans with him and was thankful when the waiter returned for their orders. It gave her a few moments to think of a new direction to steer the conversation. While Klaus may have enjoyed always focusing on her, it unnerved her and she wanted to turn the tables. Plus she was curious what his answer would be.

"What about you? Big plans for New Orleans? Since it's your favorite place in the world. What with being surrounded by all that food, music, art and culture while you're there." Wait. Had she just partially quoted his phone message back at him? She sipped her coke, hoping he wouldn't pick up on that fact, and easily playing ignorance in case he did so. From his brilliant smile she had a feeling he did.

"You would love it there," Klaus informed her, leaning slightly closer and Caroline was never happier for the length of the table between them. "So much to see, to do, to appreciate. Wonders you've only ever dreamed of at your fingertips. I resided there for years, called it home for a long while. Built a life." His mirthful gaze vanished for a moment, replaced by a harshness, a regret, Caroline had seen before on his face before returning back to being pleasant. "Nasty business of running from my father, but I doubt that's a story you're interested in hearing. I prefer the one where I was finally victorious and ended his life."

Caroline arched a brow, taking another sip of her drink. "I wouldn't know. I was vervained and kidnapped out of harm's way while all that went down."

"I know." The telltale smirk was back and she wanted nothing more than to reach across the table and wipe it off of his face, but stirred her straw around in her glass instead. Her thoughts drifted to that night and her break up with Tyler because of the sire bond. Time had changed all of them in such drastic and subtle ways. They'd never be the same.

She sobered up, gaze locking with his own and forcing herself not to look away. "Thank you. For letting him return." She knew he understood how much that gesture meant to her, just as she understood how difficult it must have been for him to make it. His words from earlier in the night echoed in her mind, and she needed to disrupt the tension she could feel brewing between them. "I'm still angling for that mini fridge though. A girl's got to store her blood bags somehow."

Klaus shook his head, smiling once again and Caroline couldn't help but reciprocate it as the waiter returned again to top off their drinks. "Play your cards right and you never know what could be in store for you, love," Klaus told her, raising his glass to clink slightly with her own, causing her to roll her eyes once again before following through with her own glass.

* * *

 

Three hours later-had it really been  _three hours_ -she couldn't believe the time had passed so quickly or that she hadn't realized how long she'd been away, and Klaus was dropping her off at her house. She'd gotten a ride earlier in the day from her mother, trying to leave space for the extra cars that would have been in town for the ceremony, and had been counting on catching a ride back with one of her friends. Funny how things worked out. From the lack of messages on her phone at least no one had been looking for her. This hopefully meant all was going fairly well on her friend and mother front.

The time spent at dinner had been anything but awkward, but as the two stepped up the stairs of the porch, Caroline was beginning to feel uneasiness set in. Especially when she stopped in front of the door, fishing her keys out of her purse. "Thanks for dinner," she murmured, glancing up at him, eyes narrowing at the playfulness of his stance. Hands clasped behind his back and looking at her with an amused expression. It reminded her entirely too much of when he'd come to collect his date before the pageant. "You were surprisingly better company than a movie and popcorn."

"Believe me, the pleasure was all mine." If anything his expression only seemed to look even more bemused and she wondered if he had some other sort of surprise up his jacket pocket. It seemed that more often than not it was this type of moment when he liked to pull something out to surprise her with.

She couldn't help but shake her head at the line and knew that this was goodbye. He was leaving and unlike before it wasn't in the middle of the night without a moment's notice. Not that she _cared_  that he had done that. He didn't owe her any explanation. So what if he had disappeared and she'd turned up at his house only to find no one there and no explanation for where he'd gone at first. It wasn't until she heard the message from him a few days later that she'd even known where he had gone. Followed by all the talk from everyone else that he was gone for good and not returning to Mystic Falls.

She was certain she was supposed to have felt relief at that fact, not the bitter sweetness that crept into her veins and tried to choke her from the inside out. Though much of that had been clouded by the Silas version of him and the further chaos that seemed to run rampant in Mystic Falls.

Caroline could see that Klaus was readying to say something and she didn't want to hear it. She  _feared_  what words might come out of his mouth after all he'd said to her on the football field and then the pleasant evening they had shared. She couldn't handle anything else at the moment, already on overload, and that was the only explanation she had for what she said next.

"When Silas was in your head, when he had you seeing him as me, what did he do? Or say?" He gotten into her head and it was a war within her about how the ancient man had brought out what he thought were her darkest desires and fears. Playing on the pieces of herself that left her so vulnerable and open. First with the feelings she knew she should not have been entertaining, the longing she knew needed to be squashed like a bug and then when that hadn't done the trick, nearly taking away the one person in her life that meant the world to her.

Klaus didn't answer right away, watching her with those eyes that bore into her inner core, looking for something that she was trying not to show. To keep hidden and protected from him, from her, from the world. Parts of her that Caroline wasn't ready to admit or accept were true. "He came after you."

There was a rawness to his voice that she hadn't been expecting, the anger on his face clearly not directed at her, but she could see the tension building in his body. She wouldn't want to be in his warpath tonight, not with the way he was clenching his fists. "He wanted Bonnie. I was the best way to get her to come out of hiding."

"What did he do, Caroline?" He was looking her over then, and she wasn't sure if it should be endearing or annoying considering any bruises or wounds or anything that man would have been able to create would have been long healed.

"I'm fine," she told him, voice letting him know she wasn't going to elaborate on the event. Not in the way he wanted. Though the bristling rage in his eyes had her continue to talk, speaking more of what she didn't mean to voice. "I was just wondering if you knew why he picked the faces he did for each of us, but I guess we'll never really know how Silas' head worked." Why had she seen  _him_? Why not Tyler? Why not any number of her friends but instead this Hybrid who she should be pleased had finally gotten out of her life? "But anyway, it's late and my mom is going to be home soon and you've got a big day of packing or whatever ahead so I'm gonna say goodnight and good luck with New Orleans."

She'd turned around halfway through her little speech, deliberately unlocking the door and stepping inside away from him. There would be no repeat of cheek kisses and no chance on him getting her to continue to speak. Not that he couldn't follow her inside if he really wanted. He had been invited after all. But she needed to put some distance between herself and him.

Klaus looked at her for a long moment, and from the way his lips quirked into a small smile, though the tension didn't leave his body, she had a feeling she had said something that he was taking as another point in the column he must have going for if she'd ever end up at his door. She should have continued with some biting comment right then, something to squash that little bit of hope, but the desire to continue on with that little game was gone for the evening.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," Klaus simply said, the smile growing a bit, and she froze as he leaned forward slightly-half expecting another kiss but instead he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and then disappeared into the night.

Caroline stared out at the darkness for a moment- _no_  she didn't care that the night was ending like that-before closing the door. She pressed her back against the door, head falling backwards and closed her eyes as she sighed. There would be no analyzing, no second guessing. Not after finally checking off high school from her 'live her life' chart she'd mentally created. All she was going to do was grab a blood, bag, set up a bubble bath and forget about everything else for a little while so she could let herself unwind.

* * *

 

After a successful celebratory breakfast with her mother, which had only been interrupted at the very last minute by the station calling, Caroline headed out to see how everyone was faring now that the veil was no longer down. Bonnie's father informed her that Bonnie had decided to head out of town for the summer to take a break from everything and rejuvenate. Caroline couldn't help but feel a little hurt that her friend hadn't informed her directly of the new plan but considering the year she couldn't blame Bonnie for needing the time away.

The Salvatore boarding house was next and after nearly walking into Damon and Elena having sex- _thank god_  for vampire hearing-she'd been informed that it was Stefan who took Silas to dispose of and that he was apparently getting away for a few weeks as well. What the hell? Did anyone remember what it was like to use their freaking phone and inform people of their plans?! Not that she was going to bring that up to Damon or Elena considering they were making those doe eyes at one another and if Caroline stayed one more moment she was going to vomit.

She pulled into the Lockwood mansion, needing some of the normalcy that only Matt could ever seem to provide her anymore and stared in disbelief at the sight of Matt putting a suitcase into the back of Rebekah's car.

" _Seriously_?"

Was she in some version of the Twilight Zone? What the hell was happening?

"This could be the one shot I have of being able to go anywhere, see anything, Care," Matt explained, looking at her as though he was expecting her to understand.

And she did. After the crappy year they had all had, and the fact he'd barely passed any of his classes and nearly not graduated, didn't he deserve a break? Why shouldn't he get to experience Rome and Paris and everything? Even if it  _was_ with Rebekah? It wasn't like she was jealous of his ability to leave it all behind for a few months and go out and really do what he wanted.

_Nope_. Not at all.

After a "good luck, have fun and you better call me" to Matt and a death glare directed at Rebekah as warning for what would happen if he was hurt in anyway, Caroline drove away. Not that she knew where she was supposed to be going. Her plans of having a great last summer break were shattered in less than an hour. Sure, Elena and Damon seemed to be staying in town but like hell she wanted to hang around those two idiots for more than a few hours if they were going to be all over each other every minute.

Her phone rang and she glanced at the center console, seeing Tyler's name flash on the screen and she happily pushed the answer button. "Tyler!" She grinned, mood brightening considerably over the fact he'd called and the possibilities of what the two of them could do to catch up after being apart for so long. "I cannot wait for you to get back here. And it's real. That you can come back. I'm not sure exactly how he told you, but you really can come home and Klaus won't even be here to glare at you or anything. He's left and it's for good this time."

She was just going to ignore the way her stomach clenched a little at that fact.

"Hey, Care," came his voice, and she frowned at the lack of enthusiasm. Maybe the fact he'd obviously had to have seen Klaus for the Original to inform him he could return to Mystic Falls had thrown him for a loop. Especially since Tyler must have been terrified the Hybrid had found him in order to exact his revenge. "I'm with a new pack now in South Carolina."

Her shoulders slumped as soon as she heard that, already knowing how this conversation was going to play out. Mood shifting back to depressed in a matter of seconds. Her feelings were giving her whiplash. "I'm learning a lot from them and helping them out with some things down here. It'll just be a few weeks, maybe a month or two, but then I'll be back. For good. It's just they let me in with open arms and I can't just abandon them when they need me."

"Of course."  _But I need you_. It took a lot of effort to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too. I love you. Look, I've got to go. We need to pick up some supplies in town and this car here doesn't have the fancy speaker thing like yours does." She could hear other voices and wondered who they were, these new wolves in his life. The last one who he'd helped and had helped him when he'd been away hadn't exactly turned out to be that great of a friend.  _More like a vindictive little wolf slut._

She'd never forget how Hayley had not only betrayed Tyler and all of the Hybrids, leading to their deaths at Klaus' hands and Tyler's exile, but the wolf had also snapped her neck and Caroline was sick and tired of that happening to her. "I love you, too, Tyler," she breathed out, before ending the call. There wasn't anything else to say and she took a deep breath, forcing her emotions down as she refocused her attention on the road.

It didn't take her long to realize that she was nearing the fork in the road that one way would lead her out toward where the Mikaelson mansion stood and the other back into town and the police station. She didn't even hesitate as she veered to the right, nope. There was no glance in her rearview mirror at the road not taken as she headed to the station, hoping her mother was inside and not out patrolling.

Thankfully, at least one thing was going in her favor and she found her mother at her desk, filling out paperwork and happy for a break from it. Caroline plopped down into the chair across from the desk, unable to stop herself from sulking. Arms crossed over her chest as she slumped in the chair. Her life sucked and glancing at her mother, her pout grew bigger at the amused smile on the woman's face.

"Are you enjoying my pain?" she demanded, incredulous. Mothers were not supposed to be entertained by their daughter's misfortune!

"Just reminded that in some ways you are very much still a teenager," Liz commented, and Caroline rolled her eyes before realizing that only strengthened her mother's claim. Not that she was going to sit up or stop moping. Nope. Summer officially sucked. "I'm glad you stopped by. I had some things to go over with you this morning before getting called in and might as well do them now before I'm interrupted again."

For such a small town, it was amazing how often her mother could be called away. Caroline blamed the supernatural. Though with practically all of her friends going away for the summer and the Originals no longer residing in the town maybe there'd be less craziness. She looked expectantly at her mother, interest piqued. Hopefully this wasn't one of those "let's clear out the attic" scenarios like at Spring Break.

"I didn't get to give you your graduation present yet and we also need to discuss something else." Caroline uncurled herself, sitting up in the chair, attention definitely focused on her mother now.

"I thought the delicious breakfast and mother-daughter time was my present," she informed her, leaning forward so she could rest her elbows on the edge of the desk. Grinning at the irked look her mother directed at her for a moment.

"I figured graduating high school deserved something a little more celebratory than chocolate chip pancakes." Liz opened the drawer to her desk, pulling out two envelopes and Caroline arched a brow, anticipation growing.

"I'm guessing it's not a pony."

Liz shook her head, clearly amused by the comment. "I thought you outgrew the pony stage when you started gaining an interest in boys."

Caroline scrunched her nose. "Does a love of horses ever really go away?" she asked, eagerly holding out her hand for the first envelope her mother offered. She tore it open, not at all sure what could be inside, mouth dropping open slightly at the train tickets that she found. "New York City? Like  _the_  New York City?"

"I took off Monday to Friday of next week. We'll drive out to the station and take the train in, it'll cut down on time and the internet says there's no reason for a car if you're staying in the city and arrive by train. We can do whatever you want when we're there. I expect you'll have an entire itinerary planned by tonight." Caroline looked up from the tickets, smiling brightly. This was the  _perfect_  graduation present. The somber look in her mother's eye had her hesitating for a moment. "After everything this year, I thought it might be good if the two of us got a chance to spend some time together out of this town."

She knew what her mother was referring to. Caroline didn't think she'd ever stop having nightmares of finding her mother laying on the floor, unresponsive and looking dead. She didn't know what she would have done if she hadn't been able to save her. She didn't even want to contemplate a world without Liz Forbes in it. Not yet. Not for another fifty to sixty years.

They needed to do this together. "I love it, mom. Seriously, this is exactly what I need." Though, she was curious what was even in the second envelope and couldn't help but glance at it.

"This one isn't from me, but from your great grandmother. The one on my side." Caroline couldn't even remember meeting her great grandmother. Her mother's mother had died before she was born; both of her aunts had left Mystic Falls shortly after graduating high school and Caroline only had brief memories of either of them from her childhood. Most of what she knew was from her mother's stories about them.

Liz kept the envelope in her hands, and Caroline wasn't quite sure which emotions were playing out on her mother's face. "You met her once when you were...two? Maybe three. She stopped into town for a visit. She was always like that, here one minute and gone the next. Always an aura of mystery around her when she wanted. I only met her a handful of times myself growing up. Your grandmother and her had a falling out."

Caroline nodded, not sure why some great grandmother she couldn't even remember was leaving her something. "She dropped by a few years back, after your father and I divorced. Offered money to help but me and my stubborn pride." Liz shrugged and Caroline knew her mother wasn't one for handouts. Neither of them was. If they were going to get something, it needed to be earned. They didn't like being beholden to anyone. "Anyway, she also gave me this to give you when you graduated and I read the accompanying letter that was drafted for me. She created a trust for you. I don't know what it contains or what even she may have to give away or if she's even still alive, but when you create that itinerary tonight, put in time to meet with the trustee while we're in New York." Liz handed her the envelope. "This is her letter to you explaining it all."

Caroline blinked. Her great grandmother had created a trust in her name? What? Since when did their family have enough money to even go around creating trusts? Apparently Liz picked up on the internal question. "Try not to worry yourself into a frenzy, Caroline. I'm sure we'll head to New York and you'll find out she left you a stuffy old coat or something. She was like that. Used to send the oddest gifts for Christmas. She tried to give you an hourglass when she saw you. This antique looking thing and you were spilling the sand all over the place before I managed to get it from away from you."

She smiled, watching her mother stare into the distance for a moment, seemingly amused at what she was remembering. It was a lot to take in, and it did spark a number of questions in her head, but it was also something she didn't want to burden her mother with. Not with everything else she carried on her shoulders. "I'll read it later because right now the whole we're going to New York City in two days is taking precedence. I need to start researching." Caroline was standing in moments, mind going a mile a minute. "I'll bring dinner by if you're still here then. Tonight I'm feeling an urge to have tacos."

"Tacos sounds perfect," Liz agreed, already getting back to the paperwork on the desk.

"Love you, mom," Caroline murmured, before heading out of the office. Her mood was back up, and she was adamant that nothing bring it down until after her whirlwind adventure she was planning to have with her mother. She needed to call Elena or Bonnie, but thought better of the first friend, not wanting to interrupt whatever activities she might be getting up to with Damon. Bonnie's phone went to voicemail and Caroline left a brief, excited message about it, urging her friend to call her later. She scrolled through her contacts, trying to see who else she could call and be excited with about the news.

Matt's phone was probably already off and if it wasn't she didn't want to disturb his own adventure. She already knew Tyler was busy and probably wouldn't pick up. Stefan's phone went straight to voicemail.

Her finger hovered over Klaus' name. It was mid-afternoon and she wondered if he was already headed out of town, but if anyone would understand her excitement wouldn't it be him? The guy who kept offering to show her the world. She stared at his name, internally questioning if she should delete the contact now that he was leaving, but couldn't quite bring herself to do that. She couldn't bring herself to actually call him either.

She settled on sending a quick text.

**Caroline:** _Looks like I won't be staying in MF all summer. Going to NYC with my mom for the week._

She didn't expect a reply to come as quickly as it did.

**Klaus:** _You'll enjoy New York. Might I recommend the Broadway 1602 gallery in the Baudouine Building. It's small but I think you'll find the art to be quite promising._

**Caroline:**   _I'll add it to my list._

**Caroline:** _Packed and on the road already?_

**Klaus:** _Regrettably I left an hour ago. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on New York._

**Klaus:** _Though I think you would find New Orleans more suited to you._

**Caroline:** _Nice try._

**Klaus:** _Don't forget to try the pizza while you're there, love._

She pocketed her phone, shaking off how easy it was to text with him. It  _shouldn't_  be something she found to be normal. What would her friends think? She was half tempted to take her phone back out and delete their conversation in case anyone decided to snoop through her conversations but scoffed at her own behavior. Paranoia did not suit her, especially not when she had a trip to New York to plan.

Hopefully this would turn out to be one of those out of sight, out of mind scenarios. Not that it had worked that way the first time he'd left, but that didn't mean she couldn't be hopeful it would turn out that way this time. Caroline was a big believer in clinging to those last rays of hope sometimes. Especially in this instance.

Plus New York City. Screw the rest of it; she had a trip to plan.

 


	2. Chapter 2

_But when I'm standing in the gallows_  
_I'll be staring at the sky_  
_Because no matter where they take me  
_ _In death I will survive_

* * *

The City that Never Sleeps was often associated with New York, and while Klaus could certainly agree that it was often bustling with noise and people roaming about, it had nothing on the vibrancy of New Orleans. Even with Mardi Gras being over half a year away, the French Quarter was still alive with music, dancing, and other festivities. The bounce in his step as he walked down the street, taking in the frenzy of colors as the people passed by, music blaring out of this building and that alcove full of musicians entertaining the steady influx of both tourists and locals, was no longer faked. He was brimming with accomplishment, pleased he'd left behind the city and the drama unfolding in it to partake in the graduation ceremony at Mystic Falls.

While he may have missed the actual ceremony, he supposed the aftermath was when it truly counted that he'd shown up and aside from acquiring the last of his prized possessions from the manor, he thought he'd done a damn good job of continuing to entice Caroline out of her safe little existence. Staying in Mystic Falls would only stifle the girl, and considering she wouldn't be able to get away with looking seventeen for too many more years without people becoming wary, the longer she remained, the harder her final break with it would be.

He hoped her jaunt to New York with her mother would nurture the wanderlust that he knew she had inside of her, get her to break free from the chains holding her back and truly experience all life now had to offer her. And it was so much beyond the trivialities of finishing high school or attending college. As much as she enjoyed being a vampire, embracing the fearlessness that came with it, he could see that she was still hanging desperately onto the last pieces of her humanity. Striving to be the daughter she thought her mother needed, the good friend to those he thought beneath her. She seemed to only be denying any chance to find out exactly who she was now and who she could become if she would only allow herself to break free from the ties binding her to that town.

Klaus neared the bar that Marcel frequented, already noting the so-called nightwalkers watching him from the rooftops. Oh they were decent at hiding in the shadows, but that was an art form he had perfected centuries before any of them were born, and the hatchling vampires possessed little threat to him.

He walked into the establishment, smiling at the way Marcel's inner circle was up on their feet immediately, assessing him and his threat level. While he may have made nice shortly before heading out of town, he knew they were wary. And why wouldn't they be? His bite could kill them and there wasn't a damn thing any of them could do about it if he wanted them to die. But he wasn't playing that angle at the moment, and he glanced around the room, spotting his old protégé at the bar, talking to some tourists. He took a moment to study the younger vampire, taking in the affable manner in which he joked with this human and that vampire. Everything had turned out beautifully for him in the years since Klaus and his family had been run out of town. Kingdom created from the ashes of the one Mikael had torn down. Klaus meant to get it back, and if his thousand year quest to unlock his werewolf side proved nothing else, it was that he never gave up until he accomplished what he set out to do. Marcel should have known that much already, but it seemed someone had not been listening to all the lessons he had offered years ago.

Pity that.

Sliding onto the stool beside Marcel, Klaus ordered his usual before spinning around to smirk at the men watching his every move. It was hardly his fault they were jumpy. Marcel clapped a hand on his shoulder, still laughing at something someone else had said.

"Where've you been, old friend?" he asked, and while his tone was jovial, Klaus could hear the underpinned worry, the wondering what he may have been plotting.

His drink was placed down, and Klaus swiveled to pick it up. "Collecting artwork from my old dwelling. You know I can't go too long without the Renoirin my immediate possession." It wasn't a lie. He had gone back to collect what he had wanted to bring with him, ordering the leftovers to be boxed up and stored with the rest of the vast accumulated collection. Telling nearly the whole truth was better than lying outright. Less chance of someone picking up on the fact you were doing so. "Also saw my sister. You remember Rebekah, don't you?" Klaus drank, not looking in Marcel's direction but seeing his reaction to the girl's name from the mirrored wall across the way.

Just as he expected a look of regret passed over the vampire's face before he laughed again, shaking his head in what was supposed to be merriment. "And is she coming back as well? I remember the two of you were pretty inseparable the last time you were here." Marcel motioned at his inner circle and the karaoke station started up again, one of the younger ones going up to participate.

Was it Luke? Lucian? Klaus really needed to start remembering their names. "She's currently gallivanting around Europe with a new toy for the summer. Perhaps she'll decide to come beg for forgiveness after she gets bored." She owed him that much after her constant interference in his own plans and wanting him to suffer through Silas' mind games all so she could enjoy some passing whim to become human.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he scooped it out, quickly reading the text alerting him that Caroline and her mother had managed to make it safely to the city. He replied with further instructions before deleting the message, unamused when another text came through. This one from his brother. Whoever had taught that man to text needed to have their eyes ripped out. Klaus ignored that one, not wanting to bother with his brother and his incessant questions and plans for the moment.

Marcel was watching him, and Klaus knew he was being assessed. "It seems my brother delights in trying to decide my life for me. Even though he knows how well I usually respond to that kind of interference," he informed the younger vampire, tilting his phone so Marcel could see Elijah's name clearly on the screen. "I'm considering tearing out the spleen of his favorite violinist and dropping it on his doorstep as a warning."

That idea really did have a nice ring to it.

"I'm sure nothing of importance happened while I was away. And no doubt you've already dealt with anyone who dared break your rules." Klaus raised his glass toward his old protégé, gaze never leaving the throng of men loyal to the century old vampire beside him. What fools they were to follow this upstart who claimed to be a phoenix that had risen from the ashes but had been nothing more than a rat, waiting for the day he could scurry out into the light while the wolves were away. Klaus knew he was supposed to be making nice, getting himself edged into the inner sanctum of Marcel's circle of fools, but he wasn't stupid. If he wasn't his usual biting self to the boy, he'd only think he was plotting what he was in fact plotting. Plus he was never one to play by anyone's rules but his own.

"How many parades have you had in the name of someone you used to enjoy in the last few days?" He paused, glass nearly touching his mouth, as he smiled at his own words.

"Enough to get the point across," Marcel replied, ordering a round of drinks for the bar and getting an uproarious applause from the customers who swarmed him.

Klaus smirked, sipping at his own drink certain that if the point had actually been made then the number of deaths out of defiance would have lessened instead of continuing on day to day, week to week. Perhaps Marcel wasn't as in charge as he thought he was at times. Amusing thought that one.

"Bit famished and should see what my dear brother is whining about now. Do come by the new place tomorrow. I've a bottle of Chteau Marguax with your name on it." Klaus downed the rest of the scotch, clinking his glass with Marcel's before disappearing from the bar and out onto the still bustling street.

Twenty minutes and one brunette dead in an alley later, Klaus entered his new home-a townhouse in the French Quarter. Not as much space as his previous dwelling, but it was in the heart of the action, and room enough for its specific purpose. The Renoir was already hanging in the foyer, and he made note to thank the few of his own secret entourage who had managed to do as he asked. He may not have acquired the loyal followers Marcel currently had at his disposal in New Orleans, but there were those whom he had garnered loyalty from over the centuries and those who had a healthy dose of fear to do as he said. The Originals had made plenty of enemies over the years, but they also had a steady group of followers who only needed to be reminded of their duty when the time was right. No need to play that hand so soon in the game.

There were voices coming from the parlor, and while he knew Elijah would be around, Klaus was not in the mood for any further company. Especially not the she-wolf sitting on the couch talking to his brother. "Niklaus," Elijah started, already using the placating tone Klaus had come to associate for when his brother wanted something.

He was having none of it. "I believe I told you to keep her out of my sight."

Though apparently neither was Elijah. "You know as well as I do that she needs to be protected. The child inside of her needs to be protected. Your heir-"

"Compel her a house. Compel her the bodyguards needed to protect her and the child, but she will not reside in this house with me.  _She_  is not family." Klaus picked up the decanter of whiskey, pouring himself a glass, and ignoring Elijah's sigh. He did not care if he was making the situation difficult.

" _She_  is right here," snapped Hayley, and Klaus ignored her, turning his attention once again to his brother.

"She's merely an incubator. When the time comes she'll be as easily disposable as the next," Klaus continued, finally looking at Hayley, the smile on his face entirely predatory. He was pleased to see the color drain from the girl's face, wanting her to know how little he valued her existence in the equation.

He would not have her thinking that carrying his heir inside of her meant she held any power over him, over his family. Once her services were concluded then she would be shown the door one way or another. If she was smart about it, maybe he would allow her to keep her life. He could already see her trying to get that false bravado back into place and continued on speaking, wanting nothing more than to knock it back out of her. "It would be such a pity if I had to send her head to her grandmother with the birth announcement."

Klaus smirked, swirling the drink around his tumbler as he glanced back at Hayley, watching the realization dawn on her face that he knew more than he'd let on about where she might have come from. If only she hadn't sided against him time and again maybe he would have been more forthcoming with the information. For now he saw no reason to divulge anything that he knew. Maybe if she learned to hold her tongue and keep out of his way he would feel generous enough and not slay what was left of her immediate family.

From the look Elijah was directing at him, Klaus knew his brother was not pleased. Even if he did agree with his assessment about Hayley's situation. He could almost see the wheels turning in the older vampire's head, trying to come up with the correct phrase to help him "come around" as he was always so apt to putting it. "Niklaus, must you deliberately set about to upset her every time she is-"

"-I mean it, Elijah. She is not welcomed here and if you truly wish for that child to come to term, might I suggest you keep her out of my damn sight?" Klaus demanded, slamming the now empty glass back onto the table. An heir would be nice, but there was nothing that said he needed one. Not when he would be king forever.

Hayley was up off the couch in seconds, shaking her head at the two of them, a protective arm slung across her stomach. She was still angry though; annoyed that she was being denied information about her family, and her temper was getting the better of any sense for self-preservation she might have. "If the witches really wanted to get you in a bind they should have looked harder and tracked down the annoying blonde instead of-"

Klaus had her against the wall, hands wrapped around her throat, with his face mere inches from her own. It took every ounce of restraint not to squeeze the life right out of her. Snapping her neck would be mere child's play and not even the incessant thumping of the unborn baby's heartbeat would save her if she caused any harm to come to Caroline. "I suggest if you want to keep your tongue you learn to control it before I tear it out of you. I don't believe it's needed to complete your pregnancy." Her hands were grasping his own, futilely trying to pry his fingers off of her. He squeezed harder, glaring at her and waiting for the telltale signs that she was trying to nod.

" _Brother_." Elijah had a hand on his shoulder, and Klaus could hear the uncertainty in the man's voice, not knowing what Hayley was referring to or why Klaus had reacted as he did. As far as Klaus was concerned there was no reason for Elijah to know anything.

"Get her out of here,  _brother_ ," Klaus snapped, releasing his hold and watching with satisfaction as the she-wolf fell to the ground, rubbing at her neck. Fear mixed with anger flashed in her eyes as Elijah helped her up and out of the house.

Klaus turned away from the scene, knowing he was in for another lecture from the older vampire, but it was of little consequence. He would not be overruled, especially not in his own home. Not when he was already tiring of playing by the witches' rules, by Marcel's. Why he couldn't simply kill his old protégé was beyond him, but part of him was looking forward to slowly taking back his reign and leaving the once penniless boy again with nothing to his name. There had to be some sort of poetic justice to that.

His phone vibrated, and Klaus scowled, wondering who was bothering him so late at night. If it was Sophie or one of her riffraff they would need to wait until morning. He had held off long enough on capturing the scene he was desperate to paint and nothing would stop him from accomplishing that task. Except it was a text from Caroline, and all prior intentions were forgotten for the moment, smiling to himself at the fact she had reached out to him once again of her own accord.

**Caroline** **:** _You were right. The pizza here is to die for._

**Caroline** **:** _Don't let the fact you were right go to your head. You've got to be right at least once in a while._

**Klaus** **:** _You'll change your tune once you try authentic Italian pizza in Italy, but NY style is comparable._

**Caroline** **:** _Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I hear Chicago style is also good so I should probably check out that before I fly across the sea._

He frowned, frustrated that she continued to hold herself back. Clearly she wanted to see more of the world, but she wasn't allowing herself to take a chance and truly experience what the world had to offer her. What was she so afraid of? It irked him beyond belief that she allowed that damn small town and the people there to have the hold they did on her. While her loyalty was one of the traits he admired in her, Klaus also felt she gave it to the wrong people. None of them cherished it like they should. As  _he_  would.

**Klaus** **:** _As long as you eventually allow yourself to unclip your wings and fly, sweetheart._

There was no reply, not that he had expected one and he headed up to the room he had fashioned into an art studio, depositing his phone on the desk before heading to the easel. He placed the canvas he had ordered onto it, filling his palette with the colors he wanted to use before closing his eyes, already envisioning what the finished product would look like before he began to put color to fabric.

* * *

New York had changed in the twenty years since she had been there for her honeymoon. They could have picked anywhere in the world to go, but Liz Forbes had wanted to see Broadway, to visit Time Square and see the ball drop in person on New Year's Day. And when they were young and in love, Bill Forbes had done everything in his power to make her dreams come true. Who cared if it had been freezing and the city had been jam packed full of tourists? It had been enough to watch her eyes light up in astonishment, two high school sweethearts who had become husband and wife, walking hand in hand down the busy streets, not a care in the world for that week.

It was with a bitter sweet memory that she watched their daughter look around at the skyscrapers and busy streets with the same wistful attitude she had carried so long ago. Bill would have loved to have seen it, the wide-eyed wonder and broad smile that Caroline had as she took in each new piece of the city unfolding before them. It was moments like this one, watching her daughter stop outside a shop, glancing at the latest fashions on display, that Liz could forget for a moment all of the horrible things that had occurred in their lives. That she could push away all of the turmoil that was ahead for her baby girl.

She had worked so hard to protect her, countless hours at the station to try and provide a safe place for her daughter to grow up, but none of it had mattered. She'd been murdered in a hospital bed, life taken at such a young age, and while Caroline was still around and still held that spark she had in her since she was a little girl, nothing would change the fact that she was now a vampire. Most parents worried what the forty or so years would be like for their child after they themselves died, but Liz worried how her daughter would survive eternity. Especially with how full of chaos the last two years had been. How was she supposed to protect her from any of it?

"Much as I hate to break up this window shopping experience, if we don't get moving you're going to be late for your appointment." Liz smiled, genuinely happy to be away from their little town for the moment and ignoring the worry in the back of her mind about how things were being handled. Hopefully there weren't any catastrophes taking place.

Caroline stepped away from the window, flashing the same smile back at her mother, though her own was a little nervous. She'd made the appointment to see the trustee, and until she actually knew what the entire ordeal was about she would feel out of sorts. She didn't like surprises. Not the ones she didn't orchestrate at least. "And what are you going to do while I'm there anyway?" she asked, glancing around the street as they began to walk.

She hoped it wouldn't take too long. Not wanting to leave her mother alone to wander in the city. This was their time together and like hell she wasn't going to make the most of it before they headed back to Mystic Falls.

"Shop for souvenir gifts for everyone back home," Liz informed her, taking out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. She smoothed out the list of her deputies preferred gift ideas. "I promised shot glasses for pretty much everyone back at the station. Though, seems Susan is after an 'I heart New York' shirt."

Caroline grinned, elbowing her mother gently in the side as they walked toward their destination. "You guys so take shots of all that confiscated alcohol from any broken up parties. Admit it. I won't tell."

"Har har. Very cute," Liz shook her head, not quite an eye roll but Caroline knew that's what it was akin to from her own habits. Liz stopped walking, edging toward the wall of the building they were in front of and out of the path of walkers. She nodded toward the door, and Caroline could see the sign designating the offices that were inside, noting the one she had come to visit.

"I'll be right over there when you're finished," Liz told her, squeezing her daughter's shoulder in assurance and pointed to one of the NEW YORK SOUVENIRS shops across the street. She had offered to go with her, but Caroline had insisted she was now old enough to do this herself. Whatever it was.

Caroline nodded, glancing at the doors she needed to enter in order to head to the office where she was expected. "Alright. I'll see you in a bit." A silent 'be safe' passed between the two of them as Caroline watched her mother cross the street and safely enter the store. Sighing, she turned and headed off to find out what was in store for her.

* * *

Nothing was going like Caroline had expected. Trustees were supposed to be stuffy middle aged men in suits and smoking cigars or drinking scotch from tumblers. Their offices were supposed to be sterile, unfeeling, and meticulous. Everything she was encountering was the exact opposite. The young, vivacious woman who had greeted her when she'd entered the office couldn't have been that much older than she was. Though maybe the girl had a baby face. It was possible. TV had definitely lied to her on what she was going to encounter so why not be wrong on this as well?

Or maybe the woman was a vampire because there was an air to her that Caroline couldn't quite place but didn't seem exactly human. Something just a little off that she had come to associate with supernatural beings. But her heartbeat was steady and she didn't smell like a wolf so Caroline smiled brightly at her greeting before following the woman into the room past the secretary who watched her curiously.

Caroline couldn't contain her own curiosity as she walked into the room, noting what she was pretty sure were African tribal masks hanging from the walls and a Fertility statue sitting on the desk. The mahogany furniture with flecks of yellow and orange embedded in it completed the room and Caroline roamed around for a moment, stopping to look at the masks, wondering if they were authentic. Had the woman been to a part of Africa and bought them there or were they knock offs purchased on the street or an local artist's rendering of the real deal?

There was something that was disconcerting about the entire situation though, and she remembered the phrase about cats and curiosity and where that usually led. But she wasn't a cat; she was a damn vampire and more than capable of taking care of herself if she needed to. Though seriously, what trouble could she possibly get into while in a damn office?  _Get a grip_ , she mentally chastised herself.

"I must say, Miss Forbes, you are not at all what I expected," Ms. Nthanda commented, and Caroline turned toward her, watching as she was silently assessed. Caroline cocked her head to the side, waiting in case she wanted to continue her thought, but when the trustee simply smiled at her, Caroline took the seat across from the desk.

"Likewise. My whole perception of any of this is from Lifetime movies which apparently not at all an accurate representation." Caroline shrugged, folding her hands in her lap and wondering what happened next. "I don't even understand why I'm here really. I didn't even know I had some apparent trust in my name until a few days ago. My mom says I met her once, my great grandmother who set this whole thing up, but I don't remember her and can't for the life of me figure out why I'm getting anything from her..." She cringed inwardly, wondering if that was a little too truthful, a little too harsh.

"Ms. Valdis has always had mysterious reasons for anything and everything that she does," Ms. Nthanda continued, leaning back against her chair. The atmosphere in the room seemed to change, growing colder, and the candles that were set on the table to the right were suddenly lit.

Caroline's eyes widened, trying not to let her fear show. "You're a witch." And witches usually didn't like vampires. That whole upsetting the balance of nature thing.  _Crap crap crap._

"And you are a vampire." She didn't like the way the woman was looking at her any longer, the silent assessment with a gaze that Caroline couldn't read. This could turn out badly so very quickly.

"My mother is waiting for me. She knows I'm here," Caroline started, hands moving to grip the arms of the chair she was in. Witches were able to do that headache inducing spell and that was the last thing she wanted to experience. She hadn't come for a fight. What the hell was going on?

"Oh nonsense, child, she's hardly going to hurt you," came a voice from behind her, and Caroline whipped around to see another woman entering the room. This one around her mother's age, with jet black hair ending just below her ears. They knew what she was and Caroline didn't hesitate letting her vampire visage show, hopeful it would stop them from doing anything to her as her fangs descended. Maybe it would give her enough time to get out of the room. "Fai stop trying to antagonize the poor girl. She's going to have enough on her plate as it is." The woman looked back at her, gaze turning stern. "And you put those teeth away. There's no need for any of that here."

The only reason Caroline listened and didn't bolt out of the room was because of her eyes-the same eyes her mother had, the ones she did. "Who are you?" she demanded, taking a deep breath to steady herself and allow her features to turn back to human.  _Curiosity and the cat. Remember what happens._ These two women had five minutes before she ran. Who the hell cared about something some great grandmother she didn't even know had left her?

"Valencia Valdis." She sat down in the chair beside Caroline, who scooted back a little, wanting to keep some distance between herself and the strange woman. Just like with the trustee, she could sense something slightly off about her. "But you might call me your great grandmother."

Wait. What?

"Excuse me?" Caroline blinked. Surely she had heard that one wrong. There was no way this woman sitting in front of her could be her great grandmother. She was much too young. Except… "Are you a witch?" Was that what this was? Witches could hold off the aging process some, right? She was pretty sure she had heard that from Bonnie at some point. "Because, you're kinda way too young looking to be my great grandmother. Which take that as a compliment or whatever."

Valencia laughed, and the sound reminded her instantly of her mother's laugh causing Caroline's stomach to churn. But lots of peoples' laughs sounded similar, right? "Not a witch, no, but you are right. I look entirely too young to be as old as I am. Which is far older than even you think I should be." She paused, and glanced over at the other woman. "Could you get us some tea, Fai?" She looked back at Caroline, as if remembering something. "Or would you like a soda? Diet maybe? I'm afraid we don't stock blood bags in the fridge here."

Caroline shook her head. "Teas fine." Not that she was drinking anything these two women gave her. Hell no. She wondered if she could get her cell phone out and subtly send a text to someone. Who she wasn't sure, but someone aside from her mother who might be able to get her out of this situation.  _No, Care. You can get yourself out of this,_  she mentally chastised. She wasn't some weak little girl anymore. If she needed to then she could handle whatever was going to happen next.

Fai exited the room and Caroline glanced around, trying to see what her options in weapons were and where the exits were located. One way in, but two ways out if she went through the window. The fall wouldn't kill her but it would hurt like a bitch. "No one here is going to harm you, Caroline," Valencia tried to assure, but none of the tension released from her body. Wasn't that what every bad guy said right before stabbing you? "I wondered if I should have approached you before now, but there are protocols to follow and you had no need to know the things you do now. If you hadn't become a vampire I wager most of what I am going to tell you would be even more unbelievable than it already will be."

"How did you know what I am?" Caroline asked, needing to know the answer to that. Was there something in the way she moved that gave it away? If there was she'd need to work on that before starting college.

"I was informed of your transformation a few days after it happened. I monitored you to see if it would change what I had seen when you were just a toddler, but it did not. You are still the one." Valencia paused in her story as Fai entered the room with tray holding their tea necessities. She placed it down on the desk beside them before heading to sit back around it. Caroline ignored it, even as her "great grandmother" started fixing herself a cup.

"Okay, let's just cut to the chase of whatever this is because you have about three minutes before I bolt," she snapped, trying to shake off her tension and keep back the fangs that wanted to descend again.

"I am a Harbinger. We're rather rare in the supernatural world and not like how werewolves have become rare. There can only be one of us at a time and when the next in line to ascension is ready to take on the task, the previous one dies." She meticulously added her cubes of sugar to the small cup, stirring it precisely three times as she allowed that information to sink into the girl's head.

Harbinger was definitely an SAT word that she knew she had used before, but all meaning was lost on Caroline for the moment. So all she did was nod, needing more information. "Some would call us the heralds of death, of doom, but they would be wrong. Now death does follow in our footsteps, but what we help facilitate is change. One nation rises in the footsteps of the one that has fallen. We bring death, but we also bring rebirth." Valencia sipped her tea, tilting her head to the side as she watched Caroline. "A light in the darkness if you will."

Her father's words-Klaus's words-echoed in Caroline's mind, telling her about her goodness, her light. Except she didn't want to think about either of those men at that moment. "How do you facilitate change? And what change? What nations? Because I really don't remember anything about this in my history books."

Fai laughed. "And you wouldn't, child." She bristled at the comment. She was  _not_  a child. "Harbingers are only for the supernatural world. They do nothing to change the rest unless it's touched by what happens within our own communities."

Caroline knew all too well how much whatever happened with the supernatural could touch upon the lives of regular humans. It was why she was a vampire. Why Matt had lost his sister. Why Elena was turned as well. There was no barrier between the two worlds, they were smashed together and nothing would be able to pry them apart. At least not for her and her friends. Maybe it was different outside of Mystic Falls.

"There are cycles of who holds the most power. Werewolves did for a time, feared in every nation and causing all to hide whenever a full moon was in bloom. The Immortals or Vampires as many are known now, but hardly the only ones, did as well. And then the witches. It fluctuates every so often and we help to manage that change," Valencia continued, pleased that some of the tension seemed to be leaving Caroline's body. Even if the girl still looked ready to bolt at any moment. It was never an easy story to hear, and one she had wondered if she would ever tell, but it had to be done. "It depends on the harbinger how we do it. Some are on the frontlines, guiding the shift alongside who will be the successor. Others whisper failing plans into the loser's ear. Others sit back and watch what happens, not caring who will win in the end. That choice will be up to you."

Caroline reeled back, shaking her head. "Um,  _no_. Nothing is up to me because I am  _not_  whoever it is you apparently think I am. I'm Caroline Forbes and I am going to be heading to college in three months and whatever scam you're thinking of throwing my way is a waste of time."

She hated how Fai laughed, reminding her of when she was in middle school and one of the other girls had thought she'd done something stupid. She easily directed her patented 'bitch please' look in the woman's direction. It was quickly interrupted as Valencia continued on. "Your Forbes blood should make what happens rather interesting. They were always the protectors. This is why you have a strong lineage of sheriffs in your background. I'm still amused that your mother took that up instead of your father."

Caroline was up at that point, pushing the chair backwards as she stood. " _Nothing_  is going to happen because  _you're_  clearly crazy. You're like forty something. You are not my great grandmother and whatever insanity this is can just end now because I am leaving."

"I am two hundred and forty seven." That stopped Caroline's path to the door and she turned back around. Okay, so the woman really did look good for her age. "I have lived countless lifetimes and brought about much change, but my time is over and how I wish I could let you go and live the life you think that you desperately want." Valencia stepped forward, not stopping until she was in front of Caroline who for some reason was transfixed to the spot. She glanced toward Fai, having a feeling magic was keeping her in place. "But we both know that you really want so much more out of life. I thought perhaps it would be one of your aunts or even your mother who was to take my place, but none of them passed the test. Only you did and you were only two."

She clasped Caroline's right hand in her own, the force of her grip startling Caroline. "I am so sorry for the burden I am about to give you, but considering all you have already endured I know you will make a fine angel of death."

Caroline didn't know if she would ever be able to explain what happened next. How the woman started to freaking  _glow,_ that light encircling the two of them before she began to rapidly age in front of her, going from the vibrant woman to an old one before turning into ash within mere seconds. It reminded her of the moment in Tangled when Mother Gothel had changed from beautiful to old in a heartbeat, but instead of falling out a window, her great grandmother's body fell to the ground in a pile of ash. The light disappeared then.

As if it wasn't enough to watch what had once been a flesh and blood woman fall to a pile of ash on the floor, Caroline screamed as Fai lunged forward, plunging a stake into her heart. She thought of her mother, of the fact she'd never gotten to see the Eiffel Tower, and then the pain of having wood thrust into her skin.

God it  _hurt_.

Wait. How was she still feeling pain? Shouldn't she have been dead? Caroline pulled the stake out, wincing as the wound began to heal. "What the  _hell_?" she demanded, unsure if she meant the fact Fai had stabbed her, that she was alive, or whatever the hell had just happened to her apparent great grandmother. Probably all of them.

Fai for her part seemed rather nonplussed, already sitting back behind her desk and sipping on her tea. "It seems she was right and the fact you're a vampire won't be changing what else you are." She continued with her answer after Caroline waved at her closing wound. "Harbingers don't die until it's their appointed time and since she has died; now you're the activated one, so the usual tricks won't do much besides causing you some pain."

Caroline sat back down in the chair, trying not to look at the pile of ash that had once been a person. She rubbed at the healed wound and tear in her shirt. Damn it. She had really liked her shirt. "And if she hadn't been right?" she demanded, glaring at the woman.

Fai simply shrugged, pulling out a packet of forms from her desk drawer. "We have the matter of her trust to go through. The bank accounts she left you, the stocks, and business ventures, the various houses and villas-"

Caroline drowned it all out for a moment. Not really caring about the material things. They didn't seem to matter at all in the larger picture. Not when she was apparently now a freaking Harbinger of Death. She hadn't gotten a clear explanation about that at all and god did she need one. "What does this mean for me now? What about college? What about  _anything_?"

The witch stopped what she had been saying, giving her an actual sympathetic look. "That's all entirely up to you. The changes that you'll help facilitate might not happen for years, a century even." She pushed the tray of tea forward, nodding at it, but Caroline shook her head. She wasn't thirsty and stared instead at the cup her great grandmother had been drinking out of only minutes before. "All I know is that you will know the place you're supposed to go when you're supposed to be there. And we will be here to help you when you need it."

The card being pushed across the table broke Caroline out of her own thoughts. "My family has been servicing the Harbingers all of our lives and we will continue to do so in whatever way you may need. For now, we need to get this paperwork filled out and filed, because I do need to keep this day job and get you access to what is rightfully now yours." Fai reached across the desk, hesitantly placing a hand on top of Caroline's. "Don't think you need to understand everything right away, kid. The way I hear it, Valencia was in denial for a good twenty years when she first got the gig." She leaned back, letting go of Caroline's hand and pushing the first set of papers forward. "Everything has a way of working out in the end."

Caroline scrunched her nose in annoyance. It was such a witch thing to say. As far as she was concerned  _nothing_  ever worked out in the end for her. Tyler was allowed back but wasn't coming home. Bonnie had defeated Silas and gone into hiding-okay vacation with her relatives but that's what it  _felt_ like. Elena had her emotions back but Stefan was still the one left out in the cold. Klaus had finally left Mystic Falls and Caroline had never felt more alone.

So she was having a really hard time figuring out how suddenly finding out her family was apparently descended in some weird line of mystical mumbo jumbo and instead of just being a freaking foreverteen vampire she was now also some kind of angel of death would turn out alright in the end.

Oh sure. Things were just working out wonderfully well. All she wanted to do was sign the paperwork and forget the entirety of the meeting had even happened.

She had no clue how she was going to explain any of it to her mother.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

_She will stay there till the morning_   
_Crawl behind us as we are yawning_   
_And she will leave our game_   
_To never be the same_

* * *

The room was thick with tension, neither of the Forbes women moving from their spots on the opposite beds for the moment. Caroline had just finished telling the entire ordeal she had been through, half convinced she was crazy herself, and could nearly see the wheels turning in her mother's head as Liz tried to even comprehend what all had happened. Caroline didn't want to explain anymore, didn't want to think about the insanity that she'd just gone through and was still going through. All she wanted was for her mother to hug her tightly and tell her that little white lie that everything would be okay, even though they both knew that it wasn't true.

Liz seemed to sense her own need as she crossed the open space and pulled her daughter into a hug, still unable to voice any of her concerns. Caroline knew she needed to be strong, that she needed to pull herself together, but for just a few minutes she desperately wanted to hold tightly onto her mother and pretend the world would make sense again. Like when she was five and fell off the bike that first time, arms and legs scraped up and her mother and father had soothed her worries and convinced her to try again. But the world had stopped making sense when she'd woken to Katherine in her hospital room and died thinking her best friend was suffocating her with a pillow.

Caroline knew she needed to change her perception of so many things: time, the world, right and wrong probably as well. She was a vampire and that meant so much of what she had known wasn't correct anymore. Just like her mother had learned that not all vampires were evil, Caroline knew she needed to learn what something like eternity truly meant. But in so many ways her mind was still hardwired like a human, probably because she hadn't lived so long as a vampire, and still managed to cling desperately to her human ways. Give her fifty years and what would her perception look like then?

As if that wasn't enough change to deal with, now she had to deal with what she was deeming to be the family curse, because  _how_ could being some sort of almost immortal bringer of death ever be a good thing? Oh sure there was the whole "rebirth" part to it, but Caroline wasn't naive. People were still going to die and she would be the one ushering in that age. Somehow. She still didn't understand that part at all.

"We'll figure this out, Caroline," Liz murmured against her hair, brushing her fingers through her daughter's curls. She hadn't ever been one for hugging really, but she could tell her daughter needed the contact, and so did she. "I don't care what those women told you. They're wrong."

Caroline let out a shaky breath before forcing herself to get control over her emotions. But were they? It hadn't seemed like a cheap parlor trick and she was currently in possession of more property and money than she even knew what to do with. It just happened to come with the price tag that she was now some kind of herald of doom. Or rebirth. Or whatever they wanted to call it. Her head felt like she'd just drank a vault full of liquor and she pulled away from Liz' embrace, trying to offer a smile as she looked at her, but none would come.

"I don't think they are...were, mom." She shrugged, unsure of what else to say besides that. "You said the woman I described looked like the grandma you remembered."

"But that was nearly seventeen years ago, Caroline. It's not possible for her to still look..." Liz trailed off at her daughter's arched brow. Her daughter who would forever look seventeen. She reached out, tucking a strand of blonde hair away from the girl's face, sighing softly. "I never wanted this for you. None of it. I should have insisted that you go with your father when he left town. Maybe then..."

Caroline shook her head, clasping her mother's hands in her own. "Don't play the what if game, mom. It'll only drive you crazy and we both know it's so not worth it." It didn't help any. It wouldn't change anything that had already happened. After everything that happened in Mystic Falls hadn't they both realized that by then. She took a deep breath, and pushed herself up off the bed. "And we have three more days here and I am not going to let us waste them, okay? We have things to do and monuments to see. Like the Statue of Liberty. We still need to knock that off my list. And Rockefeller Center. And I want to buy a pretzel from one of the street vendors."

She could see that her mother was hesitant about the idea, but Caroline wasn't going to allow the latest craziness to ruin their vacation. "And I was going to say we need to get knock off purses of one designer or another, but apparently we can get the real thing now, so I say we do that too. And you need new jeans because you've been wearing these ones for far too long. Like five years or something. It's kind of ridiculous. And shirts. I don't think you've bought new ones of those in a while either. And just think we have more options than the places in Mystic Falls. We're going to Macy's. You'll like Macy's."

Liz shook her head, almost smiling as she pushed herself off the bed and stepped back into her shoes. It was obvious Caroline needed to do something resembling normalcy for the moment, and she was not about to deny her daughter the opportunity. "Alright, I'll let you do a little shopping therapy, but I'm not letting you go overboard."

Caroline laughed, a real one, not guarded or faked. "I think we might need to change our perception of overboard," she replied, as they headed out the door. Maybe she could call Bonnie later, and maybe her best friend would pick up. Surely she'd have some sort of wise words that would help Caroline make sense of everything. Until then, shopping with her mother and seeing more of New York would definitely suffice in keeping her mind off of everything for a little while longer.

* * *

Plunge. Grip.  _Rip._  Three steps, so easy to complete, and so finite in their destruction. One body lay on the floor, already ashen from the missing heart, and Klaus turned his attention to the other intruder. The  _human_ one. From the spilled bag of jewelry and electronics he assumed they thought he would buy that they had been merely attempting to rob his place. And perhaps if both had been human he would have ventured down that road, but one had been what Marcel called a nightwalker, and Klaus did not believe in coincidences. Nor did he appreciate the man in front of him pissing his pants as he watched him lick the blood off of his fingers.

Or, well, Klaus appreciated the fear. Not so much the mess. "Would you care for a drink?" he asked, passing by the man on the way to pick up the wine he had set out to air. He knew the man was assessing if he'd be able to make it to a window or a door while his back was turned and Klaus smiled to himself, unscrewing the cork. "I do so like the chase. Feel free to run, but you won't make it three steps before I tear out your liver. That should still give us a few minutes to talk before you bleed out on me."

He turned back, smiling broadly, no doubt his lips still smeared with the fallen vampire's blood as he held out the glass to the trembling man. "So be a good chap and have drink."

Klaus took his seat, sitting down and assessing the terrified man who was barely holding the glass in his hands let alone managing to stand. Oh how he had missed this fear he could draw out in someone. "Let's play a little game and we'll see if I let you walk out of this house alive, hmmm." He raised his glass in cheers to the man, all too amused at the situation. "What's your name?"

"T-t-todd James." Stuttering. Klaus arched a brow.  _Delightful_.

"And who is the young man I just killed?" He watched as Todd quickly glanced at the fallen vampire, blanching at the bloody heart next to the body. That would be an annoying stain for the maid to get rid of in the morning, but oh well. Some things just had to be done.

"Andrew James." The man let out a sob and it was a wonder he was still on his feet.

Klaus took note of the two men's similar coloring in hair and the arch of their noses. "Brother of yours?" The man simply nodded, or what Klaus was taking to be a nod. Todd's coordination seemed to be a little off. "And do you know why he had you pick this house to break into, this  _former_ brother of yours?"

"He just said there'd be stuff ripe for the picking. Even if he didn't go for any of the usual stuff. Just kept looking around. I-I...I don't know what for." Todd's face only seemed to get whiter, as though he realized his usefulness was coming to a close. "P-please. I've got a wife. And kids. They ain't...I was just trying to help out my brother. First time he asked me for anything since he...changed."

Klaus took a sip of his wine, ignoring the man for the moment. There were a few scenarios that came to mind. Either the nightwalker had come on his own wanting to find something to put him into Marcel's favor or Marcel had sent the boy on a fact finding mission. Either way, Klaus was not pleased. And Elijah had been mad enough to think having the she-wolf in the house would be a reasonable plan.

Speaking of Elijah.

"Care for a drink, brother?" Klaus cocked his head toward the doorway, and the older vampire who stood in it before nodding toward the opened wine. "Have you met mine, Todd James? He's not a big fan of people taking our things," Klaus informed the man who dropped the wine glass, eyes widening in horror at the mess he had created.

"What mess have you created for yourself now?" Elijah asked with a heavy sigh.

"One I'm sure you'll have no problem fixing as you always seem intent on doing." Klaus glared at the wine glass in his hand before finishing it off. He rose from his chair and headed to the petrified human. "I suggest you go home and enjoy what time you have with that wife and those children of yours."

Todd let out a shaky breath, already heading toward the door. "And Todd James. Think about which of those children is your least favorite. I'll be coming around to ask you that at some point."

He watched the man run then, could hear his heart speed up with terror and grinned at all he had accomplished before turning back to face Elijah. The other Original was surveying the damage left in the wake, pinching the bridge of his nose at the mess. Klaus simply shrugged, not too worried about what had transpired. Honestly, he was surprised it had taken so long for someone to try something. "It seems either Marcel is trying to dig up some information or his nightwalkers are angling for a better position. Either way, I didn't appreciate the break in."

Elijah lifted his phone from his pocket, no doubt calling on someone to come clean up the body and the blood before they stained anything any further. "And the young man you just let leave?" he asked, pausing from dialing any numbers.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing him again soon." Klaus held up the man's ID. It was amazing what could slip out of one's pocket when running for one's life.

"This is not the plan, Niklaus. Bodies in the street. In our  _home_." Elijah looked down again at the mess while Klaus arched a brow at the fact his brother had called it  _their_ home. He hadn't remembered inviting Elijah to move in. It was then that he noticed the suitcases in the archway.

"And what makes you think I will allow this?" Klaus demanded, motioning to those cases. His eyes darkening in anger.

"Because I know you, Niklaus, and you did not purchase this place with this many rooms for you to live in by yourself." Elijah said, dialing away. "I wager I am in the one furthest east?"

Klaus growled, unable to deny that Elijah was correct in his assessment and left the room, leaving his brother to deal with the mess. He entered the study, unable to stop himself from heaving one of the side tables against the wall. It was with little satisfaction that he watched it splinter and break, falling to pieces to the floor. He could hear Elijah in the other room, making arrangements, no doubt looking into hiring staff. Acting as though nothing had changed, that the betrayals of the last year or so were to be overlooked so they could become a family again.

While Klaus did want that, desperately wanted to know his remaining siblings would remain by his side as they had promised all those years earlier, he was no longer as naive as he had been then. They would stay by his side for as long as it suited them, and when something better came along-whether it be a boy or a cure or an annoying doppelganger that would simply not die-they would leave and he would be as he always was: Alone.

The tension in his body grew with each word that he heard Elijah speak, and Klaus needed to lash out, to make someone hurt just as much as he was in that very moment. It was useless to take it out on Elijah, needing his brother to deal with the aftermath, and so he flashed out of the house and out onto the streets of New Orleans intent on finding some sort of trouble to cause. The words of Mikael echoed in his mind. _Your impulse, Niklaus. It has and will forever be the one thing that keeps you from truly being great._  He didn't care though, not in that moment. The fury that was building in his body was too great to ignore. Especially with Elijah already calling his phone, no doubt wondering where he was and what he was doing. Klaus ignored it. He was a predator, adrenaline running through his body, as he stalked the streets for some prey.

And there was poor Todd James, stumbling in the dark in the direction of his home. No doubt in shock of all that he had just experienced. Klaus followed him for a few blocks, letting false hope build up in the man. He could see it in the quickening of his steps, the way the man tried to tidy his appearance as he neared the apartment building where his family lived. So close to being able to live one more day, but not close enough.

Klaus flashed to stand in front of the man, smiling widely as the man's eyes widened in terror as his hand locked around Mr. James' throat. Not crushing it, not yet, but stifling any chance of the man being able to speak above a hoarse whisper.

"But you said I could leave alive," Todd James cried, muttering a prayer to a god who could no longer help him.

"And you did leave. I just never said how far I would let you go." Klaus pushed him to the shadows, biting savagely into the man's neck. He didn't kill him yet, simply fed off the man as his hearing picked up on the sound of children only a few stories up playing a video game. He pulled back then, licking his lips as he stared down at the dying man. "Now. I believe you owe me an answer. Your least favorite child, Todd-I can call you that. We're practically old friends now."

The man tried to shake his head, tried to struggle, but the loss of blood was too great for him to do much. "Tick tock, Toddy, or I'll have to take them all."

The answer came out as barely a whisper and if not for his enhanced hearing he never would have heard it, but he did, and Klaus tore back into the man, piercing the carotid artery. He drank in the blood, letting it gush down his throat before pulling back with ghoulish glee. Releasing his hold on the lifeless body, he let the former Mr. James fall to the ground, abandoned on the doorstep of his apartment building. He walked up the steps of the apartment complex, heading to the dead man's former dwelling, and knocked once, taking a step back to be partially enclosed in the shadows.

A young boy answered the door, no older than eight, followed by his harried mother pulling him back inside. "What did I say about answering it without permission?" she demanded, ushering him back inside before turning to see Klaus. "Can I help you?"

"I'm afraid Todd sent me. Seems he forgot to bring a change of clothes for the business venture," Klaus replied, hands clasped behind his back and looking as innocent as he could.

"Stop." She held up a hand, shaking her head as she took a step back, holding the door open. "Don't need to know the details. Just come in and take what you need out of the hamper." She had already turned around, going back to ushering the children that were fighting over a toy to do their homework. No doubt having been involved in a scenario like the current one more times than she could count.

"Could you do me a favor and tell me who might be Samuel?" Klaus asked as he closed the door and walked over to the television, turning up the volume as loud as it would go.

"Me!" the eight year old said, jumping up and down with glee. Klaus could hear the change in the mother's heartbeat, sensing something was very wrong with the situation. As he turned around, face already showing his hybrid nature and the blood on his shirt finally showing in the light, he watched the color drain out of her face.

"You should really be more careful with who you let inside," was all he told them before attacking. Little Samuel was the only one left standing, and while he had taken his time with their father, he let the rest of the family's deaths be swift and somewhat painless. He turned his attention to the little boy who stood in the middle of the bloodbath, hands pressed against his ears and eyes shut tight. He rested his hands on the boy's shoulders and waited until the child finally opened his eyes, easily beginning to work his compulsion on him. "You will dial 911 after I leave, but you will not remember my face. You will not remember my voice. All you will be able to tell the police when they arrive is your uncle's name. Nothing more. Nothing less. You will always remember him as the one who took away everything that you love."

Klaus smiled as the boy repeated the instructions back to him, ruffling his hair as he departed the apartment, and headed back to his own place. His anger was gone, bloodlust satiated for the moment. Oh there would be consequences to what he had done, from Marcel, from the witches, no doubt from his brother as well, but from the little blood high Klaus was currently on he didn't give a damn. He entered the townhouse, shrugging off his jacket as his phone rang.

"Bloody hell, Elijah," he muttered, fishing it out of the pocket and answered it without looking at the caller ID. Who else would be bothering him at nearly one am? "I'm home. There's no need to keep harassing me with phone calls." He'd missed at least five from the man in the span of time he had been gone. Enough was enough.

There was silence on the other end for a second before Caroline's voice picked up, so very hesitant and unsure. "Klaus?"

"Sweetheart? Is everything alright?" he asked, eyes narrowing at the thought of those he had watching her not doing their job and assessing him correctly of her situation. They had said she was enjoying New York with her mother. Doing a shopping spree and taking in the tourist attractions.

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Why wouldn't it be?" she asked her voice still hesitant. It seemed slightly guarded, and he wondered if she was biting her bottom lip in that way she did whenever she was worried.

"It is one in the morning, love. And if it's one for me then it's nearly two for you," he chuckled, placing his coat on the coatrack before heading up toward his room. From the lack of suitcases and body he figured Elijah had gotten himself situated, but he didn't hear any sign of his brother in the house. "Not that I'm about to complain about late night phone calls from you."

"Oh." He could hear the embarrassment in her voice and closed his eyes, trying to picture how her cheeks would redden slightly, mouth parting to make that little sound. "I didn't realize just how late it was. Vacation kind of means adhering to no real time limits. Which is driving my neurotic plan everything self slightly crazy, but it's also kind of nice."

"You're enjoying yourself though? Seeing the sights. Perhaps shopping?" He sat down on the edge of his bed, removing his shoes. "If I remember that was always Rebekah's favorite venture whenever we arrived at a new city." Klaus briefly wondered if she was doing that with the human boy. He hardly felt Matt would make a decent travel companion for his sister, but she was free to make her own mistakes and maybe he would forgive her for them when she finally returned. There was little doubt in his mind that she wouldn't come to New Orleans. She always followed after him, one of the few constants in his life.

Caroline snorted. "Please don't compare me to your sister. Actually one second," he heard her mumble, and then there was some shuffling on her end. Klaus wondered what she was doing, tied to decipher the sounds he heard through the phone, but they were too muffled for him to appropriately make out. "Okay, there. That's better. I don't want to wake my mom. She's not too much of a light sleeper, but better safe than sorry. Even if this bathtub is not the most comfortable."

"I take it that you did enjoy some shopping then, love?" he continued, and then paused, going over what she had just said one more time. "And why are you in the bathtub?"

"Because it's an added barrier and I can lay down still." He could hear her shifting. "Though maybe I should have brought a pillow." Silence followed and he wondered if he should fill it up, but stayed quiet for a moment longer, certain Caroline would do so herself. He had learned that she was never one for long silences. "But yes, we did go shopping. Mostly just Macy's though today. Finally got my mother some new clothes. I'm pretty sure her wardrobe hasn't been updated since I was in middle school. Which is a travesty. I guess it works for her whole Sheriff routine, but she can at least wear a new pair of jeans with the uniform."

It was odd to have her talking so freely with him, about what amounted to nonsense really, but he found he didn't want her to stop. He remembered when Rebekah would prattle on about various fashion related things he would tune her out as best he could, but he listened to every word Caroline spoke. Mostly because he was so surprised she had willingly called him so late at night. Though that did worry him, even if he was pleased she felt she could do so.

"As much as I enjoy hearing about your adventures in the Big Apple, I feel there must be another reason for this call, Caroline." He didn't want to break the mood, wanted to let her continue on forever, but he didn't want to chance Elijah hearing their conversation either.

"I just." She was hesitating again, and he waited patiently for her to continue, to voice whatever was going on in that head of hers. "Have you...I shouldn't have called." He heard her sigh and nearly started talking; ready to tell her that calling him didn't mean anything-after all, weren't they friends now-but she continued seconds later. "Just mom was asleep and I couldn't freaking fall asleep and Stefan still won't answer his phone. Which  _hello_  you answer when your sober sponsor calls you! It's not like I'm gonna make him get all kumbaya with me on the phone about his man pain or anything. I get that he needs to get away because Elena made the colossal mistake of picking the annoying Salvatore brother. But that does not mean he should ignore my phone calls, right? And then Bonnie went and saved the world and then apparently ran off to visit her relatives again. Which is apparently her MO now for whenever Mystic Falls gets overwhelming. But even she isn't answering her phone. And last time she did this we talked  _every day_. And now not even a reply text? Like what? Do I suddenly smell? It's like I'm walking friend repellant."

"I'm sure they will both call you when they have a moment." Klaus tried to keep the amusement at her verbal onslaught out of his voice, but it didn't quite work. He hadn't quite expected the outburst of details over the phone, but perhaps he should have. If she did it in person, it only made sense she would repeat the action over the phone.

" _Ugh_. Are you finding this amusing?" She was clearly irritated by his response and he could hear her huff. "Because it is  _not_  funny. You're supposed to worry about friends when they suddenly drop off the face of the Earth and I am  _worried_. Like if you were calling me and I never ever answered or got back to you wouldn't you worry?" She paused, seemingly realizing what she had said as she hurried to continue. "Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best example. Substitute me for Rebekah. Or someone. Like your nefarious underlings who do your laundry."

He laughed openly at that one. "I'd assume I had disposed of them if that were the case," he replied, and heard her snort at that before coughing to cover up the fact she'd found that even a little bit amusing.

It was on the tip of his tongue to continue to prod at what she had said, this realization that she would answer when he called now. That she had been doing so via texts for a few days and she had called him of her own free will. But Klaus didn't want to push her, wary of breaking this bridge they seemed to be constructing between the two of them. "Would you like me to look into what is happening with the two of them?"

It would be easy enough to send someone to investigate. "No, but thank you." He heard her sigh again. "I'm probably just overreacting. I bet I'll hear from them in the morning." He could hear her shifting again and Klaus rose from the bed, walking over to the window to look out at the street below. "How's...New Orleans? And you? Surrounded by great art yet?"

"I am always surrounded by great art, love." Klaus grinned, hearing her undignified huff at his response and he could picture her rolling her eyes. What to tell her about the city? Not any of the madness with the witches or Marcel. Certainly not the bit with Hayley. Most definitely not what he had just engaged in doing himself. "I'm quite well and the city is as alive as ever." He cracked the window open, letting in the sound of the saxophone he could hear in the distance. "Listen." He pulled the phone away from his ear, holding it out briefly for her to hear before bringing it back. "Were you able to hear?"

"What instrument is that?" she inquired and he could almost hear the sleepiness to her tone.

"A saxophone. In bit of a need of a cleaning if I do say so myself." Klaus closed the window, unhooking the necklaces from his neck and placing them down on the dresser. "Still quite a decent musician playing the instrument. The amount of skilled players in New Orleans has always been promising. They're drawn to the city, just as countless artists are. You will find them painting in the middle of the street, showing their artwork for any to see. To witness the construction of their soul on canvas."

"Seems kind of intimate," she murmured, and once again he wondered what thoughts were going on in her head. If he had been able to see her then he would have been able to wager a guess, but only hearing her voice left him with pieces of the puzzle missing and he couldn't create the entire picture. "Have you ever done it? Painted in the street?"

"Not in a very long time." He could hear her yawn and smiled softly at the sound, not for the first time wishing she was beside him instead of thousands of miles away. But Caroline was stubborn and he knew she was also confused about what she was feeling. In denial even and it would be some time before she ever showed up at his door. Oh but when she finally did, the things he would show her, teach her, give to her. "Tired yet, sweetheart?"

There was another yawn in response, followed by her laughter. "Yeah, sorry for my inane conversational habits. Hopefully I didn't interrupt anything important."

"Never apologize for wishing to speak with me, Caroline," he told her, slightly irritated at the depreciating nature of her own remarks. "Believe me; I will never turn down the chance to hear your voice." He wondered if that was a little too much, but it was the truth and she always seemed to be one who wanted the truth from others.

There was silence on her end for a moment. "I'm going to hang up now...but thanks for listening, Klaus."

He half expected her to hang up before he had a chance to respond, smiling to himself when he could still hear her on the other end. "Anytime, love. Now get some sleep. I'm sure you have a packed day of sightseeing in the morning."

He hung up then, and shrugged out of his bloodstained shirt, depositing his phone on the dresser as he stared at his appearance in the mirror. Blood was streaked across his mouth, splattered on his neck and in his hair. Thankfully they hadn't been talking over a video display as he would not have wanted to explain his appearance. He heard movement downstairs, and paused in his movements, until he ascertained that it was only Elijah returning from clean up duty.

Making a mental note to have someone look into Bonnie and Stefan's whereabouts, Klaus headed to his bathroom to wash away the kills of the day.

* * *

In New York, Caroline stayed in the bathroom for another five minutes, clutching her phone to her chest and trying to make sense of the conversation she had just engaged in. She had tried calling Elena first, but her friend had seemed frazzled and the conversation hadn't gone anywhere. Stefan and Bonnie didn't answer and while Tyler had answered, he'd had to get off the phone too quickly for the conversation to really get anywhere. Her mother had been asleep and she was too full of energy to follow suit, needing someone to talk to about anything. She'd almost gone outside, to wander around the streets of New York, but she hadn't wanted to needlessly worry her mother if she woke up and found her missing.

So she'd hesitated for a good ten minutes before hitting Klaus's name and letting the call go through. Why was his name even still in her phone? She should have deleted the contact days ago. She should  _never_ have let him get space in her contact list in the  _first place._  Except she had and deleting it wasn't something she could ever bring herself to do. Even if she deleted every text message he sent her, every voicemail, and every instance of him in her call log as soon as possible. That probably meant something, the fact she was hiding his presence from anyone who might just happen upon her phone. The insistence that no one know they were in contact with one another. And yet, she still kept his name in the list. Not quite able to fully let go.

She didn't want to analyze why she had finally picked Klaus to call, but he had answered and she had at least been able to get some of her worries off of her chest. Maybe not her biggest ones, but she'd nearly gone into that with him. He probably knew something about what she had become, but she was frightened of what he might know. He'd lived for countless centuries; maybe he had known her great grandmother, or the one before that, or even before that. He might know what she was going to be capable of doing, of what she was meant to do, but as much as she wanted to know, a larger part of Caroline didn't want to find out the truth. And she wasn't sure she wanted him to know about the huge change. Would it affect how he thought of her?

And why the hell did that even matter anyway?

_Nope_.

All done thinking.

She pushed herself up out of the tub and silently padded back out into the hotel room, hooking her phone back up to the charger. Quietly she slid into the bed with her mother, remembering how she had used to do so when she was little after a nightmare, and how comforting it made her feel. She scooted around to get comfortable, wrapping her arms around the pillow as she closed her eyes. She heard her mother shift on the bed, hand coming to rest on top of one of her own and Caroline gripped it as tightly as she dared.

"Who were you on the phone with?" Liz asked, voice muffled from sleep.

"Just a friend," Caroline whispered, peering out of one eye at her mother, thankful she seemed to be going back to sleep. "Everything's fine."  _I'm fine. I'm still me. Still your little girl._  She stared at her mother, willing it all to be true.  _That won't change. I won't let it._

_I won't let it._

_I won't, mommy._

* * *

Elijah could hear the sound of running water and from the bloodstained footprints lining the hall to the stairs, he could only imagine what Klaus had been up to when he had left the house in a self-induced temper tantrum. He wondered if he should go back out into the night to clean up what was no doubt an even bigger mess, but considering how many vampires were in New Orleans, Marcel must have some sort of crew to deal with unsightly bodies before the sun dawned. Elijah would simply instruct the newly hired staff to clean up the new stains as best they could before the men came to install new wood flooring in the afternoon.

He glanced over at the clock on the wall, mentally calculating the time zone as he dialed Rebekah's number. It was late morning in Rome and she would have no excuse for not answering her phone. He was not above cutting off her access to any funds if needed. Thankfully she answered after the fourth ring, but from her huffing Elijah could tell she wasn't pleased that he had called. "Must you insist on calling me every day, Elijah? I sincerely doubt anything has changed so greatly that I need to be updated again."

"Can I not simply wish to hear my sister's voice and make certain she is okay when she is over an ocean away?" In the past that sort of declaration would have procured a smile from the girl, but too much had happened in the last year for that tactic to work any longer and Elijah knew that.

"Stop this, Elijah. Stop calling me and trying to wheedle me down so that I return to that godforsaken city. And for what? What could going there truly bring me?" Rebekah demanded, and Elijah stared up at the ceiling, imagining the accompanying expression he knew she wore. "Don't you dare say family. I was family to him for ages. I stayed beside him even after he daggered me all those other times. I forgave him for everything and tried to be there for him. And he cast me aside again and again. I owe him  _nothing_. And I will not have my life dictated for me by him or by you ever again."

"Rebekah," he began, his voice taking on that placating edge he always seemed to get when he felt she was in one of her moods.

"Do  _not_  'Rebekah' me!" she screeched, and he could hear the sound of her stomping her feet in the background. No doubt a room would be torn up in retaliation for his words. Some days Elijah wondered if Rebekah and Klaus ever saw precisely how alike the two of them truly were and how much they did need one another. "Get to your point of this call or I will hang up on you now and destroy this phone."

Elijah knew better than to test Rebekah when she had gotten to that point, knew she would carry through on her threat. "It was something Hayley said the other day coupled with what I just overheard. What do you know of someone blonde in Klaus' life that might be of use to getting him to do what is needed?" At first he had entertained the thought that Hayley had been speaking of Rebekah, but surely the girl would have said the Original sister's name. And then the tail end of the conversation he had just overheard also nixed that idea. Who was their brother calling love and speaking to in a tone he hadn't heard Klaus use genuinely in centuries? Oh, he had heard it while he was being manipulative, pretending to be the gentleman so he could get what he wanted, but what he had heard from his brother on the phone was different.

"I suggest you speak to our dear brother about that one. Even I am not stupid enough to reveal that if you're not sure. Ocean away or not, Nik abandoned me to the wolves once already for that girl." There was bitterness to her voice that Elijah had not expected and piqued his interest even further. "I am not about to step into that hornet's nest again. Though I'm sure if you think hard enough, you'll remember a particular blonde cheerleader Nik took a fancy to at mother's ball."

Elijah recalled that night, nearly a year ago, when their mother's plot to kill them all had begun. There had been a blonde on his brother's arm during the dance, one he had seen with him a number of times through the evening, but he had paid little attention to that. Too caught up in trying to learn anything about his mother from Elena. "The Forbes girl."

"Very good, brother. It seems you're not completely hopeless." Rebekah replied, tone of voice already implying she was done with their conversation. "Now if that's all Matt and I are going to do some sightseeing today and I would rather not miss out on anything. Do not call me again for at least a week, Elijah."

She hung up before he could answer and Elijah followed suit before pocketing his phone. The shower was still running as he traveled up the stairs and to his own room. For all of Klaus' earlier protests, the room had been furnished exactly to his liking. Just as the one next to it had been furnished to Rebekah's. The one beyond that was empty and smaller, walls untouched and not a single piece of furniture inside. It was the one that connected to the Master bedroom that had Elijah wondering who Klaus had in mind when furnishing it. He'd only glimpsed it earlier and would need to have a better look when his brother was out, but there had been a definite feminine touch in the look of it. For moment he had entertained that it was for Hayley, the woman carrying the next generation of the Mikaelson family, but from Klaus' continuous reactions to the girl and the ending of the phone conversation he had heard coupled with Rebekah's hint of who it might be, Elijah knew that assessment was wrong.

_Caroline Forbes_.

Who was this woman that his brother was seemingly hiding from the world and yet obviously wanted to join him in this new life? Would she be able to help in this quest of Elijah's to reunite the Mikaelson family back into the strong unit he knew they could be or would she destroy everything he was working towards? It seemed as though he has some research of his own to start.


	4. Chapter 4

_Come into focus_

_Step out of the shadows_

_It's a losing battle_

_There's no need to be ashamed_

* * *

Getting back to Mystic Falls was supposed to have been a relief, Caroline felt as though she was suffocating by just being home. Before the trip she had held on tightly to everything about her life BV-Before Vampirism. The cheerleading trophies, the friendships, keeping up her good grades, going about all the other daily routines that she had done as a human. The only difference had been that she had needed blood to survive. That and she refused to let anyone ever make her feel as small and insignificant as she had remembered feeling once all the compulsion was wiped clean. She'd succeeded in some ways with that and failed in others, but she was stronger than she ever had been, fearless, brave. She'd thought she had been that when she was human, and she had been to a degree, but she in some ways she felt like becoming a vampire had really helped her grow into her own.

_Just had to die to make it happen._

Was there some irony in that, considering what she had become? She'd looked the word up on the internet, and aside from random Google searches about someone from some science fiction show, she hadn't found anything that made even a little sense. Her mother had said she'd look into what she could find about it from any books the Founder's Council might have, but considering her mother had also never heard of harbingers, neither of them were hopeful she'd find out much.

So Caroline had tried to go about her normal routine: start a load of laundry, drop off the bags of new clothes for her mother in her own room and then had proceeded to start putting away her own new clothes, but the task had her anxious and needing to leave the house within minutes. She headed straight to her car, dialing Elena's number as she unlocked it. "Elena," she greeted, barely giving the other girl a chance to speak. "I am coming over and we are hanging out. So tell Damon to stop stuffing his tongue down your throat because I am calling in you and me time."

They hadn't had any in months it seemed. Not since Elena had turned her emotions off and the whole nasty business of trying to kill her had happened. There had been hanging out here and there for a little while, but nothing substantial. Not like they had used to hand out.

"Care," Elena started, and Caroline deflated a little. Was her friend seriously going to deny some best friend time? Where the hell was Bonnie? Bonnie wouldn't do this to her! Of course, Bonnie was also MIA so apparently maybe Bonnie would.

"He can have you back after an hour," she pleaded, backing out of her driveway. She slammed on the breaks as she noticed the young man walking behind her car. "Seriously?" Caroline yelled, throwing her hands up in the air as he got out of the way and she proceeded out of the driveway and towards Elena's house. She glanced back in her rearview mirror, making sure the guy was okay, but didn't see anyone. Maybe she'd imagined it. Wouldn't surprise her with how overwhelmed she was feeling if she did start seeing things. "Elena, don't make me beg. We both know I don't beg. And I'll just come over there and annoy Damon and everyone will be miserable."

"No, it's fine. You can come. It's just...there's something you need to know and I need you to not freak out." She could hear the worry in Elena's voice and Caroline wondered what could be causing her friend to feel that way.

"Is it Bonnie? Is it Stefan?" Because neither of them were answering their calls. Did something happen to one of them? Oh god oh god oh god.

"What?  _No!_  No. They're both fine." Elena paused. "Well as far as I know they are. Bonnie texted me yesterday and I haven't talked to Stefan since he left." Translation: She hadn't even tried to talk to him since he left. Caroline was pretty sure she should be annoyed about that on her friend's behalf, but she couldn't muster the energy to care. That entire Salvatore Brothers-Doppelganger relationship was a hot mess she was going to keep her nose out of from now on. No, seriously. It was not worth the headache. Even if she thought Elena was making the biggest mistake of her life.

"So what's the big news?" Caroline really hoped it didn't have anything to do with Elena's apparent undying love for Damon. Gagging during the phone call would probably not earn her any brownie points.

"It's Jeremy. He's alive."

Caroline blinked, nearly missing the stop sign and ramming into another car. "Seriously?!" How out of the loop on Mystic Falls' business was she? "You have so much explaining to do, Elena Gilbert." Not that she could really blame the other girl. Getting her brother back somehow had to be exhilarating and traumatic all at the same time, Caroline would cut her some slack.

Two hours later and Caroline had seen Jeremy with her own eyes, traded barbs with Damon and found herself on the Salvatore porch with Elena. "So Bonnie brought him back and now she's off with her dad's family to recuperate?" Caroline asked, saying it aloud to try and make better sense of it. Not that any of that even explained why Bonnie wasn't answering her phone.

"That's what Jeremy told us." Elena nodded, glancing back toward the front door. Her voice had dropped to a whisper, almost like she was afraid someone else might hear Jeremy's name and come investigate. "She was really exhausted because of doing that spell and lifting the veil. She probably wants time away from all the madness here, you know? Especially since trying to get her magic back this year didn't really go at all how she planned."

Understatement of the century there. "What are you going to do about Jeremy? People went to his funeral." How would they explain his miraculous return? "Is he still a hunter?"

"The hunter's mark is gone and he says he isn't getting any urges to kill vampires like last time." Elena sighed, and Caroline could only imagine what her best friend was thinking. She reached out, placing a hand over Elena's, giving a reassuring squeeze. "And well...Damon and I were kind of thinking we might be able to get your mom to help us out with a cover story for him?"

It was a pretty good plan. If anyone could fabricate a decent cover story about needing to be considered dead by the town it probably had to be the town Sheriff. "I'm sure she'll help. Just talk to her and I bet you guys will have a cover story created in no time."

Elena nodded, glancing back at the door and Caroline could tell it was time for her to go. Any idea she had fathomed about letting Elena in on her own drama was quickly pushed aside. Her friend had more than enough going on and she didn't want to burden her with any more crazy. "I'll tell her to call you. I should probably see if she wants any special lunch delivery anyway."

"Thanks, Care." Elena was standing, but still hesitating from moving away. Caroline didn't move, sensing there was more her friend needed to say. "And...You should know. The cure is gone."

Caroline stared at her friend, trying to sense an actual heartbeat or breathing, but no, Elena was very much still a vampire. "Katherine attacked me after graduation-"

" _Oh my god_ , Elena! Why didn't you say anything?" When was that bitchy doppelganger going to leave them all alone? Get a new damn hobby already. At least Elena appeared to be okay. "Did she steal the vial again?" Not that it really mattered for any of them. Elena obviously didn't want to go back to being human, not even with Jeremy being back, but if Katherine had it she might try to use it on Klaus and Caroline figured she should call him later to give him a heads up. Right? Or was she supposed to want him to be regulated to being human? She couldn't wish that on him any longer. Though when exactly that had changed was anyone's guess.

_No._   _Not time for analyzing that can of worms._

"More like I stuffed it down her throat and made her human."

Caroline stared at Elena in shock, curls whipping around her face as she shook her head. " _Seriously?"_

Katherine was human.

_Katherine_ was  _human._

Oh god that should not make her want to laugh with malicious glee and do a little cheer to showcase her amusement at the situation. Wasn't that amazingly fitting? The ever conniving, always surviving Katherine Pierce was more vulnerable than most. Especially considering she had lived for five hundred years as a vampire. Caroline could only imagine the mind trip that had to be for the other girl and she couldn't muster up an ounce of sympathy for her murderer.

"Is she around?" Really what she wanted to ask was if she could gloat, but figured that wasn't an appropriate response.

"No clue where she's gone. Damon searched for her, but she's done her usual disappearing act. Not that she'll be able to stir up too much trouble for us anymore." Elena grinned, and for a moment all Caroline could see was Katherine's smile as she had held the pillow over her face. The similarities between the two girls, especially when Elena had been without her emotions turned on, had been astounding. "Anyway, if you could get your mom on board with it all that would be really helpful, Care."

Plans were made to have lunch later in the week, but Caroline doubted they would come to fruition. Elena was distracted and rightfully so with Jeremy's return, but Caroline couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. That little 'always second place' insecurity rearing its ugly head for a brief moment. She hugged her friend goodbye and headed back to her car, shivering slightly as she remembered the last time she had been in the Salvatore driveway with her car. Silas and his mind tricks was not something she ever wanted to endure again and she couldn't help but look over her shoulder as she climbed into the driver's side, remaining tense until she pulled successfully out of the driveway.

She headed toward the Sheriff's station, blinking as she saw who she was pretty sure was the same man she had nearly hit while pulling out of her driveway. She took a long look at him, trying to memorize every detail as she drove by, just in case she needed to remember for later. Tall, skin that reminded her of dark chocolate, his dark hair in a short afro, and wearing a Grateful Dead shirt and dark jeans. She didn't quite get the shoes aside from the color blue as she passed by. Maybe he was new in town-not that anyone new showing up ever really turned out to be a _good_  thing.

_No need to get paranoid,_  she chastised herself, rolling her eyes at her own behavior before she continued on her drive.

* * *

"You've reached Caroline Forbes. I can't come to the phone right now, but leave your name and number and I will get back to you. If this is Stefan or Bonnie you better text me before I send out a search party. I am not joking!" Tyler grinned at the new message, listening for the beep, but when it sounded in his ear, he was at a loss for what to say. It would be his luck that when he finally reached out to talk to her again that Caroline would be the one to not answer. Not that he thought she was deliberately avoiding his calls. She wouldn't do that.

Right?

"Hey, Care. It's me. I was just...wanted to hear your voice." He looked up, scanning the woods beyond the bar as he headed toward the rundown building. "I'll try to call you later." He paused, a cracked branch in the distance having him whirl around and scan once more, but there was nothing there. "Love you."

Sighing, he hung up the phone. He hated the lingering self-doubt, the uncertainty over where he even stood with Caroline anymore. It was Klaus' fault, like so many other situations in his young life; Tyler could pinpoint nearly all of his troubles on the Original. He was packless thanks to Klaus. An orphan thanks to the Hybrid. And he was currently lying to his girlfriend about his own whereabouts thanks to Klaus. Possibly, the reasons he was lying had more to do with him than the other man, but he steadfastly believed he was in his current situation because of him, and nothing would make Tyler budge on his hatred for the man.

He could remember their last meeting like it had just happened, the conversation seared into his mind. The damn Hybrid had shown up out of nowhere, finding him in Oregon and Tyler had thought his life was over, thought the Original was finally ready to do what he had threatened to do all those months prior. Instead Klaus had looked him over once and told him what Tyler had dreamed of hearing, but felt would never actually come to pass.

"You're free to return to Mystic Falls."

Every inch of Tyler had been on alert; trying to see where the attack was going to come from, wondering if he'd have any chance of making a run for it. Maybe he could at least hear Caroline's voice one more time before he had his heart pulled out. Because no matter what had come out of Klaus' mouth, he was still on alert, convinced the Original was playing with him.

"No games. No tricks. A free pass on everything you have done against me," Klaus had told him, and then the older Hybrid was smiling and Tyler had just known whatever would come out of his mouth next was going to make him livid. "Let's say your acts of treason were made up for with your mother's death, hmm?" He'd known attacking then was foolish, but the monster was gloating about his mother's death and he couldn't stop himself from springing forth, wanting to hit Klaus with all of his strength.

His efforts were in vain, ending with him pushed against the nearest tree, Klaus's forearm crushing his windpipe. "Did you know she begged me for your life? Said you were all she had left and to please not take you from her. I always felt you should have considered it my Christmas gift to her. After all she did get her wish. You're alive and she drowned."

The bastard had the nerve to keep smiling and Tyler wondered how he had ever looked up to the Hybrid. Sire bond or not, he couldn't stomach the fact that he had done so. Not that he could even respond as Klaus dug his arm further against his throat. "Make no mistake though. If you are ever involved in a plot against me again, I will kill you. And Caroline's feelings on the matter will be of little consequence."

He had no response for any of it. Unable to believe that Klaus had found him only to give him some sort of leniency. It had to be a trick. "Don't think this is for your benefit. I would have enjoyed having you play a game of hide and seek for five hundred years, never sure when I would turn up to end your life, but we both know it'll be much simpler for Caroline to get over this teenage love affair with you if you're around to actually screw it up. And I've little doubt in my mind that you will." He had hated the smirk on the Hybrid's face, but even more he hated the way the man's words sparked troubling thoughts inside of his head. "You will never be able to give her what she needs and she'll figure that out soon enough."

Klaus had released him then and Tyler felt his throat knitting itself back together. "And you think you can?" he spat out, voice soft and hoarse from the strain. "That you can give her what she needs."

The smile on Klaus' face then had been a cross between triumph and arrogance. "I already am, mate. Ask her about that prom dress that she looked absolutely stunning in. Or perhaps why I was sent one of these." He'd paused then, pulling out what looked like a graduation invitation and Tyler's eyes widened at Klaus' name written in Caroline's handwriting. "I'm sure yours simply got lost in the mail."

He'd been gone before Tyler could reply. Tyler had destroyed the clearing once he'd had the strength, raising trees to the ground and stirring up the earth in his fury. It was only when he had calmed down that he had even heard the ring of his phone, wondering if it was Caroline trying to call him again on the other end. Or maybe Matt. He'd talked to him a few times to try and keep up to date on Mystic Falls, but instead of either of their names, it had been Hayley's name that flashed on the screen. To this day, Tyler didn't know what had possessed him to answer it or what had convinced him to actually listen to what she had to say.

But it was that phone call that had him in Louisiana, though not in New Orleans. Instead in the outskirts of the city, moving through the bayou as he searched for a pack of werewolves that didn't want to be found. For all the chaos she had caused, the turmoil she had brought into his life, Tyler still felt tied to the she-wolf for her help breaking the Sire bond. He wasn't sure he would have ever been able to go through with breaking every bone in his body over and over if she hadn't been there to help him through the transitions. Tyler also knew he couldn't leave her trapped in New Orleans because of Klaus, because of some scheme set forth by witches.

The sooner he located the elusive pack that Hayley was convinced was her birth family, the sooner he could hopefully get them to help the girl out, and he could return to Mystic Falls. To Caroline.

Hopefully she would be waiting there with open arms.

But even he knew the chances of that being a reality dwindled with every day he didn't head home. Every day he let what Klaus had told him continue to fester inside of him, wondering what the Original had meant about Caroline's prom dress, and not wanting to consider why he was so afraid to ask Caroline to clarify and soothe his fears. What had happened in the months he had been gone from Mystic Falls that not only had Klaus allowing him to leave unscathed after prom but also find him and give him some resemblance of freedom? Did the Original actually think he had a shot at Caroline? And more importantly, did Caroline think that he did?

She never had gotten rid of the creepy drawing the Hybrid had done of her. Not even after everything the other man had done. It had remained in her room and Tyler was never sure what to make of that fact.

Relationship drama aside, he needed to get his head back in the game and follow the scrap of a lead he'd found. He headed into the bar and was pleased to find it nearly empty, only a few regulars sitting in a booth and arguing over their latest catch. He headed over to the bartender, holding up a crisp fifty, and watched the man's gaze flash from suspicious to a false sense of glee. He was still too tense, shoulders bunched up and mouth tightly wound to truly be appreciating the cash being presented to him.

"If you can provide me with some real information I've got two more of these with your name on it." Tyler slid the bill across the bar and the man nodded, continuing to clean the glass in his hand.

"What are you looking for?" he asked, sliding the bill into his pocket.

"Have you heard of the Roux-Ga-Roux?" Tyler shifted his appearance to that of the Hybrid, knowing the man's reaction to his face would let him know if the man had any real information. He was tired of wild goose chases. He needed this mission to end.

The man didn't blink, simply shrugged, and went back to cleaning the glasses, and Tyler's hopes that he was actually onto something were heightened dramatically.

"You're gonna need a boat."

* * *

"Thanks, Mrs. Peters, I'm sure everyone down at the station will be excited for the extra fries." Caroline plastered on her best Miss Mystic Falls' smile, ready to get out of the Grill. It was one thing to hang out with her friends, or even when Matt was at least her bartender, but waiting around by herself for the entire Sheriff's stations' order had left her feeling awkward and lonely. There had been others she'd known from school around, and she'd passed a bit of the time waiting chatting with a few of them, but keeping up with the usual pretenses was becoming a strain and she was happy to get back out into the open air.

She headed to the car, tilting her head upwards for a moment to feel the sunshine on her face and neck before glancing down at her ring sparkling in the light. She had no clue how she would have gone on living if Bonnie hadn't provided her the daylight ring. Never feeling the sun on her skin again would have been enough to drive her insane. Placing the bags into the trunk, she narrowed her brows, sensing someone behind her and shut the trunk, turning to see who was there.

It was the same man from before, standing a few feet from her on the sidewalk. He was looking at her with a lopsided grin, and she had to redo her assessment of how old he was. Probably not more than a few years older than her, though maybe he was even her age, but his eyes-those apparent windows to the soul-had her feeling he was either a lot older than he appeared or he had simply seen a lot in his short life. Some days she wondered what people saw when they looked into her own. Did she look as soul weary as he did?

"Do you stalk every new person who nearly runs you over or am I just lucky?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him as she tried to ascertain his threat level.

He had the audacity to chuckle. "My aunt was right. You are kind of a feisty one."

_Seriously?!_

Part of her was tempted to flash her vampire features at him and have him go running for the hills, but she had an image to maintain in Mystic Falls, and the last thing she needed was someone she'd known all her life to see her with that face. It wouldn't end well. "And you still didn't answer my question."

"I'm Caleb. You know my aunt Fai." Caroline supposed the smile he directed at her was supposed to be charming, but mention of the witch had her on high alert.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, glancing around to see if anyone was watching them. Okay, so maybe she  _was_  kind of paranoid about everything, but considering Mystic Falls seemed to be a hot spot for the supernatural, could anyone really blame her? She vaguely remembered the older woman having said something about sending someone to help her out, but Caroline had blocked that and more of their last conversation from her mind in an attempt to deal with the information overload. She hadn't expected anyone to show up so soon.

"You didn't really think we were going to let you figure everything out on your own, did you?" Caleb asked, rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet. He looked way too relaxed, which only put her more on edge, and she wanted to wipe the smile right off of his face.

"Right because having a week to process everything was seriously just too much to ask!" She threw her hands up in the air, and headed to her driver's side door, not caring if she was acting like a petulant child. She stopped at it, pointing to the passenger side. "Well, are you  _coming?_  Because I cannot bring soggy burgers and fries to the station and if you want to talk about... _whatever_...then you need to get in the car so I can take care of this first."

His cheery demeanor as he rounded the car and slid into the seat beside her had Caroline fighting back the urge to bang her head against the steering wheel. The fact he started touching her stereo like he had a right to told her this was going to be a long, no good, very bad day and it was only noon.

* * *

The death of the James family had been kept out of the papers, but murmurings of it had been heard throughout the entire quarter. The savagery of the attack had Elijah attempting to lecture him a few times a day, had the little witch Sophie casting wary yet annoyed looks as she passed him by on the street and Klaus knew neither of them was happy with how he was failing to stick with their plans. He could sense the unease from every witch in the quarter as he walked by them in their not so hidden lives. If he bothered to look deeply at their predicament, he would have almost felt a kinship with them. Having part of themselves locked up, unable to be completely whole without their magic, was something he had knew all too well, but while they could become quite powerful, they were human and humans were sustenance, they were prey, but they were most certainly not someone for him to feel pity towards.

Like the bartender across from him with her sunny blonde hair that didn't quite live up to what he wanted to see. Her eyes didn't hold the sparkle he wished for, the ones with the deadly animal living just beneath the surface and trying so desperately to get a chance to come out and play. "Art guy," she greeted, and he grinned at her recognition.

"You can call me Klaus," he told her, sensing the slight shift in the atmosphere as his former protégé entered the bar. "I'll have a scotch. Neat."

"No point in wasting space on ice," Cami laughed, and as sweet as her voice was, it was nothing but a reminder of who was currently not sitting as his side.

Marcel slid onto the stool beside him, charming grin already directed at Camille, who seemed to brighten all that more in the other vampire's presence. Klaus kept his musings to himself, interested to see how this little not quite tete-a-tete between the two would proceed. It never hurt to try and suss out one's rivals weaknesses. Which he reminded himself was why it was better that Caroline was currently not in New Orleans, but far away in Mystic Falls and on no one's radar.

"I'll have the usual, Cami," Marcel told her, flashing her another smile before the bartender proceeded to move away in order to make their drinks. The jovial side was quickly replaced by a serious tone as he turned to look at Klaus. "There was a ghastly murder the other day. Nearly an entire family slaughtered with only one survivor."

"You don't say." Klaus didn't bother to look at him. Nor did he try to keep the smirk off of his face. "I had the misfortune of having my new home broken into the other night. Seems New Orleans is dealing with some appalling criminal behavior. Thankfully, nothing of value was taken." Cami returned with their drinks. "I think we're good here for now, love."

She nodded, not needing to be told twice, and headed away from them to clean glasses and give them some space. "Also heard that a barber was found dead the other day. Nasty throat slashing is what the news said. I take it he didn't follow one of those rules you do so love enforcing?" Klaus continued, taking a drink before turning to face Marcel. "Perhaps someone in your inner circle isn't doing their job with due diligence. Would you like me to find out?"

"I have my own methods for dealing with anyone who isn't up to standard. I did learn from the best." Marcel raised his glass at that and Klaus clinked it with his own.

From him and there was the matter of his own secret weapon. Whatever-whoever-he was using to keep the witches under his rule. That secret needed to be revealed, to be destroyed, or the rest would be for naught. "I'd say you've learned a few tricks of your own." Such as fooling an entire city into thinking a mere pauper boy could be king. Klaus swirled the scotch around in his glass, turning his attention to the blonde at the end of the bar tending to another patron. "I see you decided not to kill her."

"I did say if she was brave that I would let her live." Marcel shrugged, but the way his gaze lingered on the bartender for a beat longer than necessary was all the confirmation Klaus needed for the younger vampire's attentions.

"And you were always a man of your word." Except when it benefited him not to be, when it meant his survival. A trait that reminded Klaus immediately of the first doppelganger and her penchant for traitorous undertakings. "But back to this ghastly murder. Any leads on who might have done it?"

"You've no need to worry about it, Klaus. It's already been taken care of." Marcel grinned at him, almost pulling off the calm and collected appearance, but Klaus knew better. The boy would have named his uncle as the perpetrator, but Marcel and his minions would never be able to find the vampire who Elijah had successfully disposed of before the night had ended. Klaus had seen those from Marcel's inner circle harassing the nightwalkers as to the man's whereabouts. Seen the beginnings of discontent stirring up amongst the masses and knew he needed to keep poking that bunch to spark a fire he could help fester out of control.

"If you could look into who would be foolish enough to try and steal from me as well that would be helpful. I'd rather not have Elijah lose his mind if someone accidentally damages the silver when they're trying to abscond with it." Klaus paused, chuckling to himself. "Though perhaps I would. Might liven him up a bit."

Marcel downed the last of his drink and dropped a fifty onto the counter. More than enough to cover the drink and quite a nice tip. "I'll look into it. And I'm thinking of throwing you a welcome back party. Something to properly introduce you and  _your place_  back in New Orleans."

The power struggle wasn't lost on Klaus, but he merely smiled at the vampire. "Just let me know when and where, mate. I'll be sure to stop by for your council meeting later tonight."

Marcel nodded and walked away, stopping to talk with the bartender for a moment and Klaus simply smiled to himself, finishing off his own scotch as his phone vibrated in his pocket.

**Patrick:** _New guy hanging around the girl._

**Patrick:** _[ attached]_

Klaus frowned at the text, eyes narrowing as the picture loaded. There was a young man sitting with Caroline on one of the picnic tables in Mystic Falls. Someone he didn't know, but engaged in a conversation with his girl. From the expression on Caroline's face she didn't look too happy.

**Klaus:** _Find out what you can but do not let her see you._

**Patrick:** _And the guy?_

**Klaus:** _Do what you need to do. She's your first priority._

He erased the conversation and pocketed his phone before beckoning Cami to return to his side. "Another and this time I believe we can have an actual conversation."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Klaus could see Marcel assessing him as the other man made his way to the door. Klaus kept his gaze on the bartender, wondering how exactly he could use her in his scheme to take back what rightfully belonged to him and his family. As she returned with his drink, already bringing up the art they had watched come to life in the street when he'd first arrived back in New Orleans, he couldn't help but feel as though he was just starting to have a little fun.

* * *

"So basically, your aunt thought the best course of action was to put the newbie harbinger and a newbie witch together?" Caroline asked, and vampire or not, she could feel a headache beginning to form. "Because obviously someone with actual experience and knowledge was just asking for way too much."

Caleb huffed at that and attempted to take another fry from Caroline's bag but she snatched it out of his reach. Since when had they reached the 'share fries' stage of this acquaintanceship? "It's a journey for the both of us. If you actually listened I already told you that much. We're supposed to take the journey together and it'll help you grow into your full potential."

"I listened. I am  _tired_  of listening and being told everything will make sense 'in time' or 'when the time is right' or whatever bullshit one of you decides to throw at me now," she grumbled, slamming the bag down onto the picnic bench in annoyance. "And for your information, the 'one of you' refers to your family. Not all witches. If Bonnie was here I bet she'd actually help with the making sense of things and not be annoyingly unhelpful." Except of course there was the fact that her best friend was still MIA and not returning calls. Okay, MIA was pushing it. Off visiting relatives wasn't really missing, but it still felt like it to Caroline.

"Bonnie Bennett?" Caleb inquired, and Caroline was too busy shuffling in her purse for her phone to pay attention to the dark look in his eyes as he said the girl's name.

"Yeah, but she's out of town." In Missouri? Wisconsin? Where did her dad's family live again? She checked her phone for any messages and saw she had one missed call from Tyler and a voicemail she'd need to check later when she wasn't with her fail!witch any longer. "So what's this journey anyway?"

"Did you even look at the packet of information my aunt gave you?" Caleb asked, and Caroline pursed her lips in frustration at his question, further annoyed by his own irked sigh. She gave him her patented 'I may be blonde but I'm not a moron' look. "Your aunt left you a ton of properties."  _Duh!_  She'd already mapped out where each place was in the world thank you very much. "And one of them is in Atlanta. That's actually the last one she lived at before passing on."

_Dying_. She died. Why did everyone try and sugar coat that? She was alive and then she was  _dead_. It wasn't as though Caroline didn't understand what death meant. "And you think there will be some information in the house? Some idea of what I'm supposed to do? What I'm capable of doing?"

"My aunt seems to think it's the best place to start." Caleb nodded, picking up the bag she had smashed, and pulled out some flattened French fries to devour. "And you probably have already seen glimpses of what you're capable of doing and just not known it. Ever take on someone more powerful than you in a fit of anger and won? Or been able to distract someone more powerful than you with your presence? Stuff like that."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I have boobs, Caleb. They're pretty distracting in their own right for a lot of powerful people."

It was his turn to roll his own eyes. "I doubt your breasts talked anyone out of killing you all by themselves."

"You'd be surprised." If the more powerful being fancied her then her breasts seemed to work pretty damn well at being distraction worthy. Except that was a can of worms she was so not in the mood to open. "So Atlanta?"

"Sooner the better, unless you've got some vital reason to stay around here for the next few days." He kept on eating the fries, and she almost felt a little bad for having gone through most of them when she didn't even need to eat them to survive.

Was there anything that was keeping her around? Elena didn't need any more help with Jeremy. Probably hanging around would only make it harder for them to pull off the plan her mother had begun concocting. Stefan and Bonnie were obviously not going to be returning anytime soon and unless Tyler's message said he was on his way home then there was nothing pressing to keep her from heading to Atlanta for information. Nothing but her own fear and she wasn't about to let that dictate her life any longer.

"I need to talk to my mom."

* * *

The newly turned vampires, the ones who had been created in the last few years or so, were the ones that interested Klaus the most. Their sense of loyalty wasn't as sealed as the older ones. They also tended to have human family members still roaming the streets of New Orleans that made for easy targets to threaten. But it was their lack of basic vampire knowledge that made them the easiest to mold into what he needed. Sometimes Klaus resorted to using compulsion on them, forcing the behavior he needed to occur or leaving that little suggestion that would cause the havoc he wanted to see. More often though, it was simply talking to them that breeded the discontent he wanted to infecting Marcel's ranks.

"Don't see why he hasn't given all of you lot your own lapis lazuli yet," Klaus murmured, throwing back a drink with a few of the nightwalkers. They were in the middle of one of the jazz clubs, and he'd offered to buy a round, noting there were none of Marcel's most trusted amongst the lot. "If he controls the magic like he says he does then it shouldn't be any sweat off of his back to procure enough gemstones for all of you to be allowed to freely walk in the sunlight. And let me tell you," he drawled, lazily linking an arm around one of the crew's shoulders. "There's nothing like feeling that sun and knowing it cannot hurt you any longer. Not being sequestered to only roaming around for a fleeting few hours a day. Trapped in the dark forever."

"We gotta earn the privilege of getting one of them," one of the girls murmured, throwing back the last shot and Klaus whirled his finger in the air, signaling for another round to come their way.

"And how long does that take? A year? A decade?" He tsked, fingering the girl's dark strands. Her almond shaped eyes bore absolutely no resemblance to Caroline and he nearly frowned before remembering the image he needed to keep up, keeping the lackadaisical smile on his face. "Such a shame you can't enjoy the rays anymore."

"It's been too damn long," grumbled one of the males, slamming down a new shot. "I've been waiting nearly six."

"I'm almost at eight."

"Four."

"He said maybe next year for me."

The discontent grew a little and Klaus leaned back with a satisfied grin plastered on his face, listening to the complaints. It was such an easy thing to ignite a spark, one that would grow to engulf everything in its path, destroying all that had come before it. He'd seen it happen so many times in his life, been the cause of it more times than he could count, and how he wanted to light that spark now. Though he'd prefer if the city didn't burn to the ground in the process.

Before leaving he compelled each of them to forget he had been there, but to let their malcontent continue to fester until it reached a boiling point. Then he told them to be creative. Walking away from the group, he decided he couldn't wait to see just how creative they would be. He spotted the witch Sophie in the corner, watching him, annoyance clearly written on her face, but he ignored it. If the girl wished to speak with him then she knew where to find him.

* * *

"You're sure about this?" Liz asked for the fifth time as she stowed the cooler into the trunk of the car. She glanced over at the young man sitting on the front porch, giving them space but still watching them like a hawk.

_Not even a little bit._  That was the honest answer, but Caroline knew it wasn't the one she needed to say or the one her mother needed to hear. "No, but it's something I think I need to do." There. That was still honest but sounded better than the actual full truth. "I won't be gone too long and hopefully this will actually give me answers."

Since, well, her great grandmother had died before actually providing too many of those. Liz sighed, but nodded, obviously not too happy with the situation but she knew there wasn't much she could do about it. Caleb walked over to them, carrying the last of Caroline's suitcases and his own duffle bag to put into the trunk. "I'm expecting her to call every day. If she doesn't there will be a missing person's bulletin put out and I will hunt you down to the ends of the Earth and end you."

Caleb held up his hands in acquiescence, not about to piss off her Sheriff mother. "I'm just supposed to be her guardian on the journey," he reminded for the umpteenth time before heading to the passenger side door.

_Yeah_ ,  _whatever that means!_  Caroline inwardly screamed, glaring at his backside. For all the talk about being helpful, all Caleb seemed to do was cause her to have more questions and a headache. At least Fai had confirmed that he was in fact her nephew and supposed to be Caroline's guardian. "I'll be  _fine_ , mom."

She was reminded of her father then. His answer that she would never be okay again echoing in her mind. "And you're going to put in for the new water heater so that when I come back home we don't have to fight for who gets first shower dibs." Caroline could see Liz readying to argue that and she reached forward, hugging her mother as tightly as she dared. "I already transferred money to your account and I don't want to hear any protesting! It's as much for me as it is for you."

Liz hugged her back. "You call me every day."

"Like clockwork," Caroline promised as she pulled away. She hesitated for a moment; unsure about what she wanted to do next, but it was probably the safest option. "Can I see your phone?"

Arching a questioning brow, Liz handed over her cell and watched as her daughter typed in a number from memory. "If I don't call you. If it gets to be a few days and you're really worried, call this number and you can probably just say I'm missing." Caroline handed the phone back, hoping her mother wouldn't question who's number she'd put into the phone. "I think he'd tear apart heaven and hell to find me."

Liz looked at the new contact, eyes widening questioningly at Klaus' name now appearing on her contact list. Caroline could see the struggle in her mother's stance, wanting to ask a thousand things but refraining from doing so. Which she was grateful for, not sure how she'd explain her friendship with the Original. She smiled at her mother, taking a moment to memorize her in that moment. Not that this was goodbye. It wasn't. It was simply a short trip out of town to figure some things out. She  _would_  be back.

Caleb was already fiddling with the radio, pushing the buttons to find something to listen to, and she pushed his hand away, hooking up her iPod to the correct port. "Driver gets to choose the music."

"So when do I get to drive?" he asked, frowning at her, and Caroline turned to him, smiling sweetly.

"Never." She smirked at his scoff and backed out of the driveway, heading out of the town. It took all of her willpower to not turn the car right back around as they headed pass the 'Now leaving Mystic Falls. Thank you for visiting' sign.

_I'll be back._

For some reason, even Caroline didn't quite believe her own lie that time.


	5. Chapter 5

_I don't know where you're going_  
_But do you got room for one more troubled soul?_  
_I don't know where I'm going but I don't think I'm coming home_  
_And I said I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead_  
_This is the road to ruin_  
_And we're starting at the end_

* * *

Somewhere past the Virginia and North Carolina border, Caleb had fallen asleep. Caroline almost felt bad for him, wondering if he had gone from wherever he was from to Mystic Falls all in one go-she hadn't quite gotten that information yet but his accent hadn't been like his aunt's. She sometimes forgot that others actually needed sleep, considering she could go a day or so without it and still be full of energy. It had become somewhat normal to not get rest every night. Especially when the world had gone even crazier in her little town and she had stayed up late researching with Stefan, organizing herbs and spell books for Bonnie, and doing school work that had become decreasingly less important. But witch or not, Caleb was going to need actual rest and she made a mental note to try and remember that fact.

She'd taken the opportunity while he'd napped to reroute her calls from the car stereo to the Bluetooth in her ear instead. That way she could hopefully answer calls that came through and be allowed some measure of privacy. She had also changed their first destination, altering the route so that they weren't headed straight to Atlanta. Hopefully the boy beside her wouldn't mind too much, but it was her car and she was the driver so that meant her rules. That's how road tripping was supposed to go. Or so TV and movies had told her.

Caroline sang along to the radio, tapping a beat against the steering wheel as she drove with the traffic, and taking in the changing scenery as the route brought them past forests, farmlands, small towns and cities. Klaus' words from her birthday echoed in her mind as she passed them by, and it had been a random sign about one of the local beaches that had Caroline shifting where they were headed.

_There's a whole world out there waiting for you._

A world she was no longer afraid of going out and seeing. She wanted to breathe it all in, capture each moment with perfect clarity to remember in the coming years. "Why are we on the 95?" Caleb asked, voice sounding groggy, and Caroline glanced over at him, watching the young man wipe the sleep from his eyes before turning to look at her. "We're supposed to be on the 85." He glanced around for the directions he had printed out and found them tossed onto the back seat.

Caroline shrugged. "I want to make a stop first."

"Because getting to Atlanta right away isn't important or anything." Caleb seemed ready to go into another long discussion on how she had duties she needed to learn, but she wasn't having any of it.

"My great grandma was allowed twenty years to figure things out. If I want to take a day to go and see the beach then I sure as hell am." She didn't care if she was acting petulant in that moment. Would it really hurt for them to take one small side trip to see the ocean? They didn't even have to stay for the whole day. Just an hour or two so she could let her toes slide into the wet sand. But Caroline figured she wasn't going to win Caleb over with whining. Maybe honesty would help.

"I've never been anywhere aside from Mystic Falls. And now New York City. I lived and died and came back to life only to be told a year or so later that I'm some sort of angel of death. So I figure if I want to soak my feet in the sand for an hour or two before heading off to find out more of my apparent destiny that the world can keep on spinning for a little bit. It did during every other big event in my life, so I doubt it will stop for something so mundane." She reached over and increased the volume on the radio. "Plus I'm driving so I get to make the route."

Caleb was quiet for a long moment, and Caroline tensed, wondering if he'd continue on with the lecture she knew he was supposed to be reciting. Instead he fiddled with the radio. "I get to pick the music."

That seemed like a fair trade so that she could see a real beach. She didn't even mind when heavy metal music began to fill her car.  _Worth it._

* * *

Klaus placed down the newspaper, smirking as he reread the article about the gruesome murder that had happened near one of the universities the other day. Animal attack was what the police were calling it, though the rumor running through the quarter was that there was a nightwalker that needed to be put down. Marcel and his inner circle were looking into it, and his old protégé had seemed awfully tense the last time Klaus had spoken to him. He'd quite enjoyed the suspicious look Marcel had directed his way, but he knew Klaus couldn't have done that particular murder. He'd been with him at the time. Lovely little alibi that couldn't be disputed.

He hoped the rest of the riffraff would prove to be just as creative as the first. Pulling out the victim's insides to spell our Marcel's name had been a stroke of genius and if he ever figured out which of them had done that he'd make sure their death was a quick one. Or perhaps that one would be allowed to live. Toss up really dependent on his mood.

The slamming of the front door, followed by loud footsteps making their way toward where he was, informed Klaus that Elijah was home. He heard the footsteps stop and his older brother beginning to speak with the butler he had hired so Klaus rose from his chair. He walked back to the barely conscious brunette he had left on the couch, blood no longer seeping through the cloth he'd told her to keep against her neck wound. Klaus pulled the cloth away and heard the girl whimper. He turned her face toward him, gaze locking with her own. "Be quiet and still," he compelled her, not in the mood for fighting from his meal.

He was once again feeding from her neck when Elijah entered the room. "Must you do this?" the older Original demanded, and while Klaus knew his brother wasn't referring to the woman practically in his lap, he couldn't quite help himself as he answered.

"I was feeling a bit peckish. Thought a bite to eat might help." The girl was becoming limp in his arms, life draining away as he continued to drink her dry.

Elijah glared at him in response, tossing the paper down on the coffee table in front of him. Klaus released his hold on the girl and her body dropped to the side. "Do you think I don't know what you're doing? Inciting this violence here when you're supposed to be infiltrating his inner circle."

Klaus wiped his mouth with the cloth before tossing it onto the girl's body. "Did you honestly think I would play by their rules, or anyone's rules to get what I want? To get what is rightfully _mine?"_  Because that was what New Orleans was,  _his_. He'd built the town, created a home for their family there in the first place, and he would be damned if he allowed the boy  _he_  had created to take it from him.

This would  _not_  be like Tyler Lockwood. He would not be usurped again. Marcel would bow down to him and beg for forgiveness by the time he was done with him and his cultivated family. Maybe, if he was feeling merciful, Klaus would offer him a swift death, but that depended entirely on how well the boy groveled. "For all of your talk of family, I would think you would be helping me with my plans instead of trying to pacify the witch."

"That witch has power over your unborn heir, Niklaus, or have you forgotten as much?" Elijah sat on one of the chairs across from the couch, watching his brother closely. Conversations with the Hybrid could always go one of two ways, and he preferred this one to not end in the unnecessary drawing of blood.

Klaus shrugged and rose from the couch. "And if she harms the child then her leverage over us disappears. So we both know she won't do such a thing, no matter how she threatens." He walked to the window, looking out at the street and watched the tourists pass by. "Sophie and her martyrs will either get in line with the plan or get out of my way."

Elijah studied him for a long moment, gathering his words carefully before speaking his mind. There was no point in needlessly pushing his brother over an edge he wasn't ready to have him fall off just yet. "And what is our plan then?"

Klaus nearly smiled, knowing he should be grateful for the fact that Elijah had called it  _'our plan'_ , but his trust in his older sibling had dwindled down to nearly nothing and he found it hard to believe a word that came out of the vampire's mouth. After all, it was Elijah's 'love' that had sent him back to New Orleans, no doubt hoping for his own downfall, and part of him wondered if his brother had been involved in Katerina's plan. Hayley had been in league with the doppelganger at one point so wouldn't it make sense if everything was part of one of her elaborate schemes? Klaus simply didn't know what that scheme was yet, but he would keep watching and waiting for the signs that always revealed that bitch's true intentions.

Part of him hoped he was wrong about Elijah, that his brother truly did want for them to be a family again, but Klaus didn't have time to entertain dreams such as those. Either his brother would stand by him or he'd betray him, and when the time came for either to happen, Klaus would be ready, no matter the outcome. "For now we unsettle Marcel so that when the time comes to truly unleash hell here, he will never know what hit him." He turned back, facing Elijah. "I believe it's time you start putting feelers out there to some of our old legion. Let them know we will require their presence in due time."

There were a few he would need to personally contact because of the compulsions he'd placed on them before leaving various countries, but there were a number of vampires that were loyal to the Originals or at the very least too terrified to not obey when they were summoned. It would be best to begin having them ready themselves to come when called. Klaus would have preferred his own personal army, the one he had painstakingly wished to create, but they had betrayed him and he'd seen that there were none of them left aside from the Lockwood boy. He did find it curious that Caroline had failed to mention him in their latest talks, nor had Patrick spoken of him in his observations. Klaus suspected he would need to look into the hybrid's whereabouts soon enough.

"And you, Niklaus? What is it that you will be doing?" Elijah asked, watching his brother. He was unsure if the delighted smile his brother directed to him was a good thing or not.

"I have business to attend to out of town for a few days. I'm sure you'll be able to hold down everything until I return." Klaus figured it would be a good way to gauge Elijah's loyalty to bringing them back together as a family, and allow him to begin on phase two of his plan.

Elijah nodded, knowing this was a test and hating that he had to prove his loyalty to his brother. Considering all they had endured over the years because of and in spite of one another, it shouldn't have surprised him. It hurt more than anything. "The witches wish to speak with you and Hayley is supposed to be-"

Klaus slammed his hands against the desk. "I thought I made myself clear in reference to her." He would not have her name spoken in their house. "Do what you must to keep her alive and the child inside of her healthy, but do not speak to me of her unless it is to know she is dead and out of our lives." He would not stay and hear any more on the matter. "And dispose of this one's body. As for the witches, they would rather deal with you than me anyways, brother. I'll return in a few days."

Sighing, Elijah glanced at the dead girl on the sofa as he listened to Klaus leave the house. At least his brother didn't seem to in too much of a volatile state of mind, so the chances of their being more bodies for him to clean up after wasn't too high. He wondered where to dispose of the girl, while simultaneously trying to decide which of their old followers would be best to contact first. The front door was opened, and for a brief moment he wondered if Klaus had returned, but he smelt his sister's perfume before she stormed into room, dropping suitcases at her feet.

"Which one is my room?" Rebekah demanded, glaring down at him in spite of the large smile he directed at her.

* * *

Caroline wasn't quite sure which beach they had made it to along the North Carolina coast. All she knew was that there was rolling sand dunes engulfing her and after she had parked the car, she didn't even bother to wait for Caleb as she took off running over one of them. She stopped at the top, seemingly frozen in place as she took in the beauty before her. The beach seemed to stretch out for ages, but it was where the ocean met the sand that caught her attention the most. She watched the waves roll onto the sand, a few tourists taking advantage of the water to splash in the waves.

There were a few umbrellas propped up in the sand, people milling about with books and iPods underneath them, while a little girl sat by herself creating something with a pail and shovel. Caroline could hear Caleb walking toward her, but she didn't want the moment broken by whatever he was going to say and so she headed down, smiling as she passed the others and slipped off her own sandals. She barely felt the heat of the sand against her bare feet, intent on making it to the water without any interruptions.

She stopped right before the where the waves could reach her toes, watching the water for a little longer. "It's really big," came a small voice from nearby, and Caroline turned to see the little girl from before holding her pail a few steps away. "I was really scared at first because it goes on and on and on and  _on._ "

Caroline nodded, and watched the girl point down to the water. "But my mommy says you just have to go in a little at a time and then it's not so scary. My daddy says you gotta run in really really quick before you can be scared." The girl shrugged, obviously not sure which of her parents was right.

"Which do you do?" Caroline asked, watching the girl carefully. She glimpsed Caleb out of the corner of her eyes, a ways back in the sand and watching the two of them with a curious expression.

"I run!"

Caroline laughed as the girl took off into the water, not going too far in, but running as fast as her legs would take her into the waves pushing her back. Not about to be beat by a kid, Caroline set her phone and shoes further away from where the waterline seemed to be and then took off running into the ocean as well. She didn't care in that moment that she was getting soaked or that her hair was no doubt going to be an absolute mess. Her other senses took over, memorizing the feel of the wet sand beneath her feet, the smell of the ocean in the air, the way the waves slapped against her skin and soaked her to the bone.

The girl splashed her, and Caroline carefully splashed her back, grinning brightly as she kicked the water around her. They danced in the water like that, not a care in the world, and Caroline spun around, arms raised high as she tilted her head toward the sun, lost in the moment.

Thirty minutes later, Caroline forced herself to leave the water, waving goodbye to the girl who went back to her castle making, and she sat down on the sidewalk by the bench Caleb was sitting on, reading a book. She couldn't quite make out the cover by the way he was holding it, and her curiosity was satiated enough that she didn't really care. She noticed that her shoes and phone were beside him and she was grateful for that.

"You're not like many vampires I've met," he said, not looking up from his book and Caroline shrugged.

"Don't let appearances deceive you," she told him, not sure where that admission had even come from. "I still am what I am." She still had to control the bloodlust that wanted to overwhelm her at times, though not as often as it seemed to do to others. But maybe that was because of her control freak tendencies.

He didn't respond and Caroline looked back at him, rolling her eyes at his smile as he continued to read. She pushed herself up and picked up her phone. "I'm gonna walk and dry off."

Caleb waved his hand at her, and she took that as a sign of his acceptance for her plan, and she walked away. She pressed her phone to her ear, listening to it ringing, and only slightly disappointed when she got a voicemail instead of a real voice, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. "I just got finished splashing around in my first ocean waves, and my hair is a mess, and my clothes are sticking to me in all the wrong ways, but I wish I could take all of these amazing happy feelings I'm having right now and bottle them all up to save for forever," she spoke, grinning brightly as she looked out at the water, shielding her eyes for a moment from the bright sunlight.. "Maybe it's not great art or music, but I'm standing here in the sun with the ocean in front of me, and I think this might be what you meant by genuine beauty."

Caroline paused, wondering what else she could say, but thought better of it, of the whole message and hung up before she erased it or said something she might regret. Though she wasn't so sure she would actually regret saying more and that fact worried her the most. She clicked back to her own voicemail and replayed Tyler's message, needing to hear his declaration of love again. She listened to it over and over, trying to get rid of the fact she hadn't called him when she wanted to express how much she loved the beach.

* * *

"Are you telling me that I left Matt behind and made my way here to help out with whatever hair brained scheme he's come up with to win back his so-called kingdom, and Klaus isn't even _here_?" Rebekah asked, though it came out as mostly a shriek.

Elijah was hardly bothered by the display, used to her theatrics, and went back to cutting up the finely cooked steak before him. He nodded to the young man who had brought in the bottle of wine, directing him to leave it and go. There was no reason to subject any of the staff to Rebekah when she was in a mood. "You missed him by mere moments when you arrived."

Though Elijah doubted Rebekah turning up would have stopped Klaus from going off on whatever journey he was on currently. From the way Rebekah sulked across from him, barely touching the plate in front of her, Elijah had a feeling she felt the same way. He could see the slight hurt look she'd given, covering it up as quick as she could with solid indifference. " _Elijah_ ," she practically whined, and from her tone he knew she was about to try and use the baby sister card on him. Depending on what she requested he'd give it to her. "I don't want to sit here and eat food that I do not need. I want to go out."

Elijah picked up his glass, studying the girl, and arched a brow. "What you want, dear sister," he started, and watched her narrow her eyes, fully aware he was about to cut to the heart of that matter she was trying to avoid. "Is to go and see Marcel and if he has missed you at all."

Rebekah scoffed, and leaned back in the chair, arms crossed in annoyance. "As if I care what that peasant boy feels or thinks. I am not going to be cooped up in this house so either you can come out with me or I'll do so myself. And hopefully not ruin whatever plans you and your new witchy friends have been concocting." She was out of the seat as she finished and already heading toward the door. Sighing, he rose and followed her, knowing her not so little threat would come to fruition if he let her go out by herself right then.

"I knew you'd see things my way." Rebekah linked her arm with Elijah's and pressed a kiss to his cheek, before leading him out into the night. It didn't take them long to arrive at the bar he had known she would head directly to, even if she had made a show of going the long way around. He wasn't either surprised that Rebekah seemed to know it was where Marcel tended to be most nights when he wasn't out in the city. His sister always had a way of learning what she wanted to rather quickly.

It wasn't the sort of place Elijah liked to frequent, and the sounds of people already taking advantage of the karaoke machine made him cringe. "You best remember this the next time you tell me I do not love you," he warned, voice dangerously low, but Rebekah simply shrugged at him, and pulled away, scanning the room.

Elijah did the same, but he was noting how many vampires were present. About ten with daylight rings, another thirty without, intermingled with the humans, some local, but a good deal of them tourists. Marcel came up behind him, nearly clapping him on the shoulder, but seemed to think better of it at the last second. He wasn't Klaus. They had no creator-creature bond between them. "Elijah Mikaelson. I knew you were back in town but I never thought I'd see you grace us with your presence in here," Marcel stated, his voice cheeringly deceptive.

Before Elijah could response, Rebekah had turned around and he could hear the younger vampire suck in a breath, not having noticed her before. He was interested in how this would play out. It had been quite some time since the two of them had seen one another. "Ma chérie," Marcel breathed out, and stepped forward, scooping up one of Rebekah's hands to drop a kiss onto the top.

He never got the chance.

As soon as he'd taken Rebekah's hand she pulled him forward, and moved so she could flip him onto his back on the floor underneath her. Meanwhile Rebekah was still standing, high heel pressing down onto his throat. It had happened in seconds, and the entire vampire population was on high alert, some looking ready to attack, but wary to do so. "Don't you  _ever_ touch me again, you little traitor," she hissed, pressing down a little more and Elijah glared at the one vampire who dared to take a step forward, effectively stopping him.

Rebekah took a step back, releasing her hold on Marcel, and turned toward the bar. "Anything I have tonight, put onto  _his_  tab," she ordered, jutting a thumb back in his direction and leaving the vampire on his own.

Marcel rose, waving off any help from his followers, and he motioned for the karaoke to start back up, nodding to the bartender that he would in fact pay for whatever she purchased. "I guess some things never change," he chuckled, looking Rebekah once over before his expression grew serious. "Where's Klaus?"

Elijah spared him a momentary glance before making sure Rebekah was safely occupied. "Away on business of his own to attend to. You don't honestly think he keeps me appraised of anything that he is currently engaged in, do you, Marcel?" He was in for a rude awakening if that was the case, though the older Original doubted the younger vampire thought that. He had been in their inner circle for too many years to not know how at least some of their dynamics worked.

"Doesn't that ever get on your nerves? The lack of communication and trust he gives any of you?" Marcel asked, leaning against one of the posts as he surveyed the room.

"Tell me you're not trying to goad me into having doubts about where I stand with my brother. You would do wise to leave family business to the family." Elijah turned to glance at him then, features hardened and with an aura of deadliness about him. "I care nothing for if this land is yours or ours, but I will not see my family destroyed any more than it already has been. Do not make me your enemy. I have no qualms with tearing your heart out right here and feeding it to your compatriots if you cross me. Leave me and mine alone and we shall have no quarrel."

Of course if Klaus brought the fight to him then that was another story, but there was no use in speaking of that at the moment anyway. He nodded to the younger vampire and walked away before an answer could be given. Elijah sighed, watching his sister down two shots in a row before ordering more.

It would be a very long night.

* * *

By the time Caroline was dry and ready to leave the beach, it had gotten to be pretty late. There was still light in the sky, but she knew that if she was hungry then Caleb must have been starving considering the only thing they had during the day was a granola bar. So instead of continuing the drive to Atlanta, they headed to a motel, checking into two adjoining rooms for the night. This was good because the ice in the small chest was nearly all melted and Caroline didn't want the blood she had brought with her to spoil. Thankfully the motel room had a fridge and she transferred it all over, making note to refill the cooler with ice in the morning.

They'd done dinner at a nearby local restaurant before heading to their separate rooms. After showering, and in the middle of combing the tangles out of her hair, Caroline heard a knock on the adjoining door. She was half tempted to ignore it, but had a feeling Caleb was like the annoying brothers she had seen on television that would only keep on knocking until she answered it. Sighing, she slipped on her slippers and padded over to the door. Plus if she was honest with herself she wouldn't really mind the company.

She may have grown up as an only child and been a latchkey kid for most of her life, but she really was a people person. Sure there were times she desperately needed time to herself, but even then she wasn't a big fan of the quiet. "Hey, what's up?" she asked, pulling the door open and stepping back so he could come inside if he wanted.

She walked back to the bed; resuming her task of detangling her hair and let her slippers fall to the floor. Caleb headed inside, following behind her and sat down on the overstuffed chair, propping his feet up on the desk. "Too early to sleep and I figured since we're stuck with one another that we could get to know one another better."

"So basically you're bored and want to play twenty questions?" Caroline shifted so she was sitting cross-legged on the bed, and smiled at the boy so he'd know she was teasing. "I'm down for a while before I have to do my required mom check-in."

Caleb laughed, leaning forward to pick up the bag of snacks they had bought before heading to the rooms. "We wouldn't want her to think you've already gone missing." He opened up a pack of M&Ms and tossed her the bag. Couldn't hurt to eat just a little of their stash. "I kind of like not being tracked down by your Sheriff mother." He paused, remembering the exchange between the two before Caroline had gotten in the car. "Or should I be more worried about this mysterious friend who will look for you through heaven and hell."

Was she blushing? He was pretty sure she had just begun to rummage through the candy bag to hide her blush. "He's just a friend."  _Yep. Friend. Firmly in the friend box._  It didn't hurt anything for the two of them to be friends. Even if she felt a little like he was her dirty little secret, but she didn't want to think about that too much, remembering Elena's words about her dirty little thoughts in regards to him. "And you'll never have to worry about him if I'm always checking in."

"Is he from Mystic Falls?" Caleb asked, sorting the candy on the table by color. He didn't care if it was weird. He preferred to eat them by colors.

Caroline nodded. It wasn't a lie. Klaus had been born in the area. Just over a thousand years ago. Details. "Why's he just a friend if he cares about you that much?" Caleb looked at his handiwork, trying to figure out which had the least amount of candy.

She was grateful the witch hadn't been looking at her when he asked that, not quite sure what her expression was in that moment. "I have a boyfriend. His name is Tyler and I  _love_  him." If she said it enough and didn't analyze it too much then it was true. "What about you? Did you have to leave behind a lot of people to be here?" She kind of figured he did. Seemed they were both in the same boat.

"No boyfriend for me right now. My friends think I'm visiting family." And for a second she remembered that was what Bonnie was doing and wondered if Bonnie was in Caleb's situation….but surely she'd be able to tell her friends considering they all knew about the supernatural. She shook her head, refocusing on Caleb and what he was saying. "My mom was ridiculously proud that I was chosen. My father just wants me to make it back okay and I'm pretty sure my sisters are just glad there's one less person to fight over the shower." He laughed at that, remembering the twins' excitement over more hot water time.

"How many siblings do you have?" Caroline asked, watching him with the candy as she munched on a Twizzler.

"Just the two. They're twins. Francessa and Isabela. Though they prefer Cessa and Izzy. Izzy was Bela for a while but she decided she didn't like being asked if she would ever find her Edward." Caleb froze, and looked up at her, shrugging. "Uh. Sorry."

"It's fine. Though I'm kind of disappointed we don't sparkle in the sun." She really didn't need any more stalkerish vampires in her life though.

They talked for another hour or so, about each other's home towns and their friends, Caroline telling him a little about her worry for Bonnie and Stefan but leaving out all the mess with Tyler and Klaus, before Caleb rose. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk now. Call my own mom and you should call yours so I don't have a wanted bulletin out on me."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I don't think you'd do well in black and white stripes." She was already pulling out her cell to do what he'd suggested though. "Shout if you get into any trouble."

Caleb shook his head, laughing inwardly as he went back to his own room. Putting on his own shoes, he made certain he had his cell and the hotel key on him before heading out and locking the door behind him. He walked a fair distance from the hotel; glancing around to be sure Caroline wasn't following him. He doubted she would, she had no reason to suspect anything about where he was going or why, and truthfully he wasn't going to do anything malicious, but what she didn't know for the moment wouldn't hurt her.

He had no clue how he was going to tell her about Bonnie Bennett's fate. Every witch had felt that ending happen, that sacrifice, but it seemed someone was keeping the truth from her friends. Caleb knew about the vampire emotion switch and the last thing anyone needed was for there to be a harbinger with no emotions running around exacting her will on the world. Not that he could really see Caroline even doing something like that, but he still didn't want to be the one to have to tell her about Bonnie.

Glancing around again, Caleb stopped on one of the benches lining the street and pulled out his cell. He had a few missed calls from friends back home, no doubt wondering where he was and when he was coming home, one from his aunt, and two from New Orleans. Those were the ones he needed to deal with first. Hitting the call back button, Caleb waited for the woman to pick up on the other end.

"What is taking you so long?" the voice demanded, sounds of the New Orleans's French Quarter echoing behind her before they were muffled a bit. No doubt she'd gone into the pantry to block out some of the noise, but he knew it meant he needed to be selective in what he said. There were too many vampires with great hearing nearby to overhear their conversation.

"We'll be by soon, okay? First we need to stop off in Atlanta, give that place a look around and as long as my aunt's done her job there will be enough hints that the house in New Orleans will have the actual answers." Caleb continued to look around, making sure there was no one watching him on his end.

"And when she gets here, she has to want to help  _us_ , Caleb. Not the others. We need the power to sway back to our side." It took all of his energy not to snort at that. Of course that's what they wanted. He wasn't stupid. Young sure, but he understood what was at stake.

"There may be a slight hiccup to that." He took a breath, not too sure how to go about explaining, and decided just saying it was the best answer. "She's a vampire." And they usually sided with one another, but she said her best friend was a Bennett and he'd seen her at the ocean, dancing with that little girl and not looking like any of the vampires he had ever come across and needed to take down. He heard the slew of curses on the other end and felt a need to continue talking. "I don't know what it'll mean, but I think she'll do what's best, Sophie." Just maybe not exactly what the witches of the Quarter wanted.

"I don't want you to  _think_ she will, Caleb. We've already lost so much, we're already losing more and the first part of this plan isn't going anywhere how it should. I don't understand why Valencia refused to come to our aide for so long. If she had done her job this wouldn't…" There was silence for a moment. They both knew why Valencia hadn't, remembering the words of the older woman. It hadn't been her battle to fight any longer, she hadn't had the energy to complete the tasks, and they needed to wait for the heir to grow up and be ready to take on the mantle. They were simply lucky that it hadn't been too many years for that to come to fruition. "I need to go. Work on her, Caleb. Get her to understand the witches' plight."

"Yeah, sure." He hung up and hunched forward a little, staring out at the night's sky, wishing he could go back to the days when the most he had to worry about was what to wear to school. But that kind of wishing would get him nowhere, and so he pushed himself up and headed back to the motel, hearing the television from next door as he settled down for bed. Maybe she wouldn't do what was best for the witches, but watching Caroline leap through the water, splashing around with the child, the sun shining down on both of them, and then just talking with her about Mystic Falls and her own life, Caleb thought that maybe she'd do what was actually best for the world, and wouldn't that be something to see?

It was probably a good thing he wasn't able to look at her as she was currently, sitting on the bed, fangs descended, full vampire face showing. Sipping her blood from the bag as she watched the show, looking nothing like the sweet innocent girl who had frolicked in the waves and more like the angel of death her great grandmother foretold her to be.

* * *

For wolves that didn't want to be found, Klaus felt they hadn't done that great a job at hiding their tracks. Then again, they had never had the likes of him looking for him, pouring over the legends, the stories of the roux-ga-roux, sussing out what was real, what was fabricated to hide their true natures, and what were mere embellishments to fool those who thought they were nothing but the monsters talked about to scare children into obeying their parents. Usually they didn't' stay for too long in any one place, picking up camp and heading to another spot in the bayou every few days, getting rid of any trace of their presence. It was a smart plan, and one he and his siblings had done back in the days when Mikael had been hunting them to the ends of the Earth.

The only problem was that they were using techniques to keep themselves hidden from those who were human, who were supernatural in nature but different than them. In his wolf form though, Klaus had been able to track them, blending in with the surroundings and scurrying off like a lone wolf if they ever noticed him. He'd tracked them down back when he had first arrived in New Orleans, gone out to survey where they traveled to next every few days, wanting to keep an eye on them for when he would finally have use of them.

And that time was now.

So instead of venturing forth in his wolf form he approached them upright and looking serenely human. From the way they turned toward him, some of the group hurrying the younger ones he saw scattered among the pack into deeper territory, he knew they were afraid.

"We don't take kindly to strangers," came a deep voice followed by the sound of a gun cocking. It would have been entirely too easy to flip around and remove the hand and firearm from the man holding it, but Klaus was trying to not be too impulsive. Not yet. "Especially your kind."

"I highly doubt you've ever seen the likes of me before, mate." He couldn't help but be a little smug about his uniqueness. Klaus glanced behind him, smiling at the man and two others holding similar guns pointed at him. No doubt they held wooden bullets, and while they would hurt, he was used to pain. They wouldn't be any kind of deterrent.

"Tell that to your boy we got strapped to the tree," the eldest man snorted, nodding in the other direction and Klaus turned, following the path the man had been pointing.

The Original's eyes widened in shock for a moment, before his lips curled in amusement. There, wrapped securely to the tree with no doubt every chain that this pack owned was Tyler Lockwood. The boy looked up, gaze locking with his own, and he had to hand it to the whelp. He at least tried not to look frightened.

Klaus merely clapped his hands together. "Well isn't this  _fantastic_."


	6. Chapter 6

_I feel broken_  
_like I'm made of glass_  
_except I'm shattered_  
_and oh so easy to smash_ __  


* * *

Tyler Lockwood was strung up to a tree.

It took all of Klaus' inner strength not to roar with laughter at the sight. He did take a few seconds to memorize the scene, ignoring the men with rifles behind him. He couldn't help but wonder what the whelp was doing in Louisiana instead of Mystic Falls. Seemed as though someone really didn't understand the chance they had been given. Though, this unfortunate event for Tyler probably yielded more pleasant ones for him. Like the delightful voicemail he'd received from Caroline about the ocean.

"Does she know you're here?" Klaus called out, and the angry flash in the boy's eyes was answer enough.

Oh this would be fun.

But his attention was turned back to the matter at hand, refusing to be distracted from why he had tracked down this particular pack of werewolves.

"I'm not here for a fight." Well, not  _yet_. He was prepared to engage in one and win if need be, it wasn't as though they had any means to stop him. Not for long and not permanently. "Simply to talk and offer you an alternative to living constantly on the move and unable to form roots anymore." Klaus saw the surprised looks in some of them men and women who were on the edges of the circle of people slowly beginning to move in toward him. No doubt they were under the impression they could capture him as they had done Tyler, but unlike the boy, he had no qualms ripping out as many hearts as needed.

"And if we ain't in the mood for listening?" one of them asked, and Klaus could feel the muzzle of the gun press into his back. He flashed around before the man had time to fire, effectively removing the gun from his grasp and holding him flushed against his chest, arms crossed around him in a headlock.

"I suggest you start because those wooden bullets you have will do nothing against me." Aside from cause some pain, but it wouldn't be anything close to what he'd endured over the years and wouldn't cause him to falter. "Just like my friend there I'm not simply a vampire, but unlike him, I can't be killed with your wooden stakes. My name is Klaus." He saw some of them freeze; others took steps backwards, fear coming off of them in droves. "I see you've heard of me." That probably shouldn't have made him smile as brightly as it did, but their terror was intoxicating.

Klaus released his hold on the man, holding his hands open in an attempt to show he came bearing no ill will. "Don't worry; I'm not in the market for anymore Hybrids to gather into my service. Simply werewolves. In particular you lot." And he would have them in his service by whatever means necessary. He didn't particularly want to force it out of them, compulsion would work if needed, but he preferred the majority of them to come willingly. Call it an experiment to see if he could.

"I'm aware that you have been skulking around these bayous for the last few hundred years, though usually you managed to stay in one area for more than a few decades. Establishing yourselves in the various towns before necessity made it so you would move on." Usually because of superstitions running rampant and forcing them to leave less their neighbors try to kill them off. Louisiana had always been a hotspot for believers. He could see the older members of the pack looking downward at the memory of how things had been, while the younger generations growled at the safety they had never known. "There was a time you even stepped foot into New Orleans, but it seems some twenty or so years back you ceased to do so and your movements became rather erratic as if you didn't want to be found."

Which he knew they didn't. They were deliberately moving and trying to evade the feelers Marcel had been putting out. Klaus had heard mention of daywalkers scouring the wilderness every few days, constantly coming back with nothing substantial to report. "You could go anywhere, leave this bayou behind and reform your pack in another territory. It's not as though your kind is thriving any longer. There are large expanses of land to explore, to claim, and yet you remain. You won't be scared off what is rightfully yours and yet you don't have the gumption to actually do anything about your circumstances."

Klaus shook his head, mocking pity at their predicament, as he clasped his hands behind his back. "You used to be a proud race, causing others to hide in caves every full moon so as not to face your wrath and now you cower in their shadows." He looked around at the lot of them, could see the shame in some of their eyes, the fear still predominant in others. "What a pity you refuse to live up to your potentials."

Klaus' gaze fell to the Alpha wolf in front of him, still clutching his rifle tightly and now glaring at him with narrowed eyes. He could sense what Klaus was doing, planting the seeds of doubt into his pack's minds about how he led them. From the murmured grumblings heard among the members Klaus was definitely succeeding with some, and really some was all he needed. "Marcel is but a vampire and while he may have control of the city now, there's nothing to say he will still remain in control a month, even a week from now. Your bites can kill one of them within days, incapacitating them in minutes and yet you let him run you out of town," Klaus chided them, motioning to the swamp around them. "Regulating you to fleeting moments of security here and there."

"And what'll you offer us? A lifetime of servitude to the Hybrid King?" the Alpha demanded, digging the end of his rifle into the ground.

"Instead of what? A lifetime of servitude to an Alpha who leads them through swamplands?" Klaus smirked at the man, enjoying the anger that radiated off of him. He almost willed him to attack. It'd be entirely too easy to rip the man's heart from his chest and display it for all to see, but Klaus knew his impulse was something he needed to control in that moment. He needed to stick to his plan. "I believe I've spoken enough for the day. I'll be at that quaint little diner down the road to talk further if anyone would like to continue the conversation. Or you could always run off to the next place you'll live for a few days."

He arched a brow at the Alpha, his amusement still showing and took a step backward. Oh wait. The Lockwood boy. He didn't need him souring the lot of them to his proposal and killing him outright, while it would be fulfilling, somehow he simply knew it would get back to Caroline and she wouldn't believe he had ever allowed the boy to freely return home. "I'll be taking this one with me." His tone left no room for argument and he held out his hand for the key to the locks. "I'd so hate to lose him and need to return to rip out a few hearts as payment."

The Alpha grumbled, nodding toward one of the younger members of the pack who stepped forward and handed Klaus the key. He couldn't help but smile as the young man bowed his head slightly as he'd approached, an act usually doled out only to the head of his pack. Klaus took the keys and turned back toward his first Hybrid. For a moment he could remember when he had been proud of the boy, having been the only one to survive the process and allowing him to figure out the key to making them successfully transition. Pride had turned to jealousy over what the younger man had. A mother who loved him, friends, the pretty little girlfriend who had turned out to be so much more than the trophy Klaus had considered her to be at first. That beautiful young woman who he  _would_  spend the rest of his immortal life with one day. He'd make certain of it.

He walked toward Tyler, an evil glint in his eyes as he realized the boy had been strapped there for at least a day and considering vervain wasn't something one came by easily in the area, the chances of him being on it were very slim. The way Tyler's eyes widened in fear confirmed his suspicions. No doubt they were also forcing wolfsbane on him somehow to keep him weakened. It'd be easy enough to do if they wore protective gear.

Klaus leaned in close, his voice low and his eyes already working their compulsion. "You will follow me from here and do exactly as I say, not muttering a word against me to these people."

Tyler repeated the directions back at him, growling when he snapped back to reality. "Oh don't worry, mate. I'm not about to do anything like force you to screw up your relationship with Caroline." Klaus unlocked the chains free, smirking. "I'm fairly certain you simply being here has done that for you."

He laughed at the dark look that fell over Tyler's features, a confirmation that the poor girl had no clue what her boyfriend was getting up to instead of being with her. "Now come along," Klaus instructed, walking away from the conversing pack members and Tyler following close behind. "If you follow directions particularly well maybe I'll let you in on her thoughts about the ocean."

He could just imagine the boy's scowl and it only made his own smile brighten considerably.

* * *

"You do realize if we keep on stopping at random places we're never going to make it to Atlanta," Caleb chided, though there was an underlying amusement to his voice as Caroline pulled off onto the side of the road.

"But it's a  _real_  peach farm with  _real_  peaches." She waved at the stand built on the road with the hand painted sign and a handful of other cars also pulled over, their passengers having the same idea as her. "Let me live out my fantasies!"

Caroline was out of the car, practically skipping toward the wooden structure, before Caleb had even unfastened his seatbelt. "You know they're supposed to be magical, or super delicious or something along those lines. Aren't they like the state fruit or something?" She was fairly certain Georgia was known as 'The Peach State'. She had gotten it in elementary school for the parade of states project.

Caroline was exchanging money for a bushel of freshly picked ones by the time Caleb caught up to her. "Plus you need actual sustenance," she reminded, tossing him one of the water bottles she had purchased to him before heading to sit on one of the picnic benches. Okay, so  _maybe p_ art of her kept stopping off at tourist attractions to delay the inevitable, and part of her was still freaking out about everything and while Caroline did want to learn about her new apparent destiny, another part wanted a few more hours of being a normal...vampire teenage girl. Or as normal as she would ever really be anymore.

Caleb shook his head, trying not to laugh as he followed after her. Sitting there devouring the gigantic peach it was almost difficult for him to remember she was a vampire let alone the newest harbinger. He was pretty sure she fit more into the fairy or angel category. She just needed to add some glitter for that sparkling effect. Except then he watched her entire demeanor change, body tensing as she stared out in the distance, and he turned around to see what she was looking at.

Another car had pulled into the dirt lot and a man stepped out, looking around, gaze falling on the two of them for a moment, before heading to the peach stand. Caleb shrugged and moved to sit down beside her. "What's up, buttercup?" he asked, nudging her slightly with his elbow.

"What? Are you from the seventies or something?" Caroline rolled her eyes, breaking her own tense stance and slowly began to relax again. She peered at the witch over the top of her sunglasses that she'd pushed down a bit "You're not, right? I know some witches do that whole 'look young' spell or whatever." So maybe she didn't know the exact nature of what the spell was, but longevity was possible!

Caleb laughed, snagging one the peaches from her bag. "More like nineteen. My aunt Fai is older than she seems though." He looked back toward the man. "So why'd you get all serious for a second there?" He wondered if she had sensed something-whether it be because of her vampiric nature or otherwise.

Caroline shrugged. "I could have sworn I've seen him at the last three places we've stopped…" She laughed, rolling her eyes at herself. "Probably just a tourist hitting all the great stops as well."

"I doubt anyone else thought the "Button King Museum" seemed like a great place to go." He really wondered how she had even found that particular place.

"Like you weren't amazed at what that guy managed to sew those onto!" she protested, glancing back at the guy again. He had been watching her and quickly looked away, causing her to really give him a once over. It was then that she saw the telltale ring with the gemstone on his hand.

She focused, listening for what she should've been able to hear if he was human, but wasn't quite there.

_Vampire._

It could have just been a coincidence, but lately Caroline doubted that those were even possible. Everything seemed to have a purpose, sometimes it took a while for that purpose to come to light, but it was there, waiting to be uncovered. "Alright, let's get going. No rest for the weary." She kept the smile on her face, not wanting to give anything away because if it turned out to actually be a coincidence she didn't want to give Caleb something to tease her about later. Hopefully it was, but she mentally planned her next steps just in case it wasn't.

Thirty minutes later and Caroline pulled off to the nearest gas station, using the excuse that she wanted more ice so the blood didn't go bad and that they should fill up on gas just in case. Caleb was polite enough to not mention that they were less than an hour from Atlanta and the car currently had more than half a tank of gas in it. She left Caleb to deal with the vehicle, motioning to the side of the building. He quirked an eyebrow at her, unsure why she was heading in that direction when ice would be found  _inside_  the store, but figured he'd let her do her thing. Maybe she had a phone call to make that she didn't want him overhearing.

Caroline hid herself in the shadows the dumpster managed to create, watching the lot to see if the mysterious vampire would show up as she expected. If he didn't appear in the next few minutes then she'd laugh at herself for her paranoia and make sure to get some junk food along with the ice to thank Caleb for dealing with her crazy. It was possible that he'd just been in the area. Maybe he lived in Georgia and went to that Peach Farm every day.

Except she watched the vampire's car pull up three spots behind her own and saw him get out, scanning the area, quickly walking away once he spotted Caleb. The witch didn't seem to have seen him, checking on something in the trunk instead, and Caroline braced herself. She knew she needed the element of surprise on her side. The vampire coming her way was no doubt older than her and therefore stronger than her so if she wanted to get the drop on him it would need to be by startling him.

She waited for him to nearly pass before swinging out with a wooden board she'd found behind the dumpster, smacking him across the back and sending him flying forward a little. Thankfully the gas station wasn't exactly busy because Caroline didn't want to try and explain her and the other vampire's appearance nor did she want to use compulsion.

He'd spun around after catching his footing, hissing at her and she hissed back, baring her fangs and readying to smack him again if she needed. The vampire surprised her then, lifting his hands up and his features smoothed back to normal. "I'm not here to hurt you."

_Say what?_

It didn't matter though, Caleb had come to check on her and Caroline watched as the vampire collapsed down to his knees, hands pressing to his head as Caleb walked forward, chanting a spell. Caroline knew that one a little too intimately. "You've pretty much got about ten seconds to explain yourself before I stake you," Caleb warned him, and Caroline wasn't sure if she was thankful or annoyed at the assist.

She took a deep breath, forcing her own features back to normal as she waited for the vampire to answer. "Klaus sent me to protect her," the vampire groaned, and Caleb faltered with the spell, allowing the man to rise though he made no move toward them.

For her part Caroline stood there blinking at him for a long moment, trying to comprehend the words that had just left his mouth. " _SERIOUSLY?!"_  she half growled, half yelled, clearly not at all pleased by that admission.

Klaus had sent him.

Klaus had sent him to protect her.

To protect  _her._

Nope. Like hell was she allowing this to happen.

Meanwhile, Caleb's eyes had widened in fear at the statement, glancing between the two of them as he tried to make sense of everything. " _Klaus?_  Like  _the_  Original Hybrid Klaus?" he asked, watching the other vampire nod. He looked to Caroline for confirmation-maybe it was a coincidence?-but she was too busy fidgeting around in her purse.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" she muttered, not paying attention to either of them. Where the hell was her damn phone? "Sending people to freaking protect me. I am  _not_  his to protect and he needs to get that into his thick skull." She pulled out her cell, looking triumphant for a moment, before glaring down at it as she dialed an all too familiar number. Pressing it to her ear, she glanced back at the vampire. "How long have you been following me?"

He hesitated, clearly not wanting to answer that question, but she narrowed her eyes, a slight breeze seemingly forming from nowhere that whipped her curls about her face, and the words seemed to spill freely from his mouth. "Ever since he left the ceremony."

"No,  _seriously_... _the_  Klaus," Caleb continued, trying to get an explanation as to what was happening, but no one was paying him any attention. He looked up to the sky, seeing dark clouds begin to roll in and cover what had been a cloudless sky. Looking back at Caroline, he watched what she did, how she handled herself while angry to see exactly what would happen. Even if he still wanted clarification on if this was the Klaus he had been warned about for most of his life.

Caroline growled in frustration as she got Klaus' voicemail once again. "You have one hour to call me the hell back and explain to me why-what's your name?" She paused, looking back at the vampire, who grumbled his name and was now staring at her in fear, no doubt scared over the fact he had been caught and Klaus would know. " _Patrick_  has become my personal stalker before I delete your name from my contacts, block your damn number, and  _never_  speak to you again."

She hung up her phone, dropping it back into her purse before holding out her hand to Patrick. "Give me your phone," she ordered, anger still radiating off of her in waves and the older vampire immediately complied. "You are going to go inside and get some snacks and ice before all three of us head to the nearest motel to camp out for the night so we can figure out what we're even going to do with you."

Patrick nodded, hurriedly handing over his phone before heading off to comply with the rest of her orders. Caroline took a deep breath, she was still entirely too angry and knew she needed to calm down. Caleb watched her, still taking mental notes of what her mood was doing to the world around her. He doubted she would pick up on that just yet, but the wind had picked up considerably in a two foot radius around them, whipping up the trash and spinning it before it fell as she got her emotions under control. He looked up to see that the sky was once again cloudless, the storm clouds that had appeared during her mood disappearing into the air and allowing the sun to shine.

Caroline smoothed down her hair before she turned to face Caleb, readying herself for any and all questions. The witch was looking at her with a mixture of awe and smugness before he shook his head. "You know he's like over three hundred years old, right?" he asked, motioning toward the retreating vampire. It would probably be a good idea not to mention the weather changing just yet. "You just ordered around a three hundred plus year old vampire and he listened."

"I was head cheerleader. I have a great 'follow my orders now' voice." Caroline shrugged. "Besides, I highly doubt kill me is on the list of things he's allowed to do if he's supposed to protect me." Oooh she was going to give Klaus the rant of her life once she got him on the phone.

"Yeah. About that..." Caleb rubbed the back of his neck, watching her carefully and trying not to let too much of his anxiety at how she'd answer the question show. "How exactly do you know Klaus?"

Caroline sighed, running her fingers through her hair again. How did she even begin to answer that question? "Oh my god, he didn't turn you did he?" Caleb asked eyes wide as he stared at her. Because the possibility of her being sired to Klaus was frightening.

" _No._  I was turned by Damon Salvatore. Accidentally. That's a long story and I-okay, not really long. Katherine is a bitch and smothered me with a pillow while I had Damon's blood in my system and so ta-da, vampire." She shrugged, trying to avoid the Klaus question for as long as possible. "Remember me telling you about Tyler? Well, he's also a Hybrid. The first successful one, but that really doesn't…"

"So Klaus wants you protected so he has power over Tyler?" Caleb scrunched his nose, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. That had to be it, right? Because the Original couldn't know about her. No one had known aside from Valencia and she hadn't even told Fai until a few days before Caroline met her.

"Not exactly." Or at all. "We're...friends."

"Wait...is he the  _friend_  that you put into your mom's phone? The one who'd move heaven and hell?" That couldn't be it, right? He looked hopefully at her to answer that Klaus was someone else, and not that particular person.

Caroline shrugged as her answer and heard the witch's heart begin to race and she felt like she could taste the anxiety rolling off of him. She blinked in surprise, afraid he was about to have a panic attack, especially when he leaned forward, pressing his hands to his knees and trying to take deep breaths. "It is not that bad," she started, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Caleb peered up at her for a moment, his expression clearly saying "Come the fuck on, Caroline" and she sighed again, rubbing a soothing hand against his back to try and calm him down. It took a few moments, but eventually Caleb and her were sitting in the parking lot and leaning against the wall. Patrick had finished following Caroline's orders but was standing a few feet away, holding the bags and keeping a watchful eye over them.

"I didn't think that guy even had friends," Caleb muttered, staring at the asphalt and Caroline rested her head back against the wall. That would be because he didn't, not really, and whatever she had with Klaus, no matter how much she tried to regulate it to the friendship column, even Caroline didn't really believe it. How they had even gotten to the point where she had allowed him to call them friends, where she willingly referred to him as one, was beyond her. Especially after all that had happened between him and Tyler, to Carol Lockwood...but then there were the moments between her and Klaus, and Caroline couldn't quite deny how she gravitated toward him sometimes.

"Well, he does." Or well. She looked up to the sky, wondering what all to reveal. Or what there even was to reveal. When had her life gotten so complicated? Wasn't it supposed to be Elena with all of the relationship drama? "It's pretty much me. And it's not so much a friendship feeling on his part. But I don't really want to talk about this out here so let's just get to a motel so when he does call me back I can freely rip him a new one."

"You're sure he'll call?" Caleb asked, helping pull her up. He obviously had more questions he wanted to ask, but he realized they were probably better asked away from any prying ears.

Caroline snorted. Oh he'd call. And if for some reason he missed the window of opportunity that she'd given him and she actually carried through with her threat, she had a feeling he'd find out exactly where she was and carry out the conversation with her in person…so maybe she'd give him a few extra minutes so that didn't need to happen.

* * *

Nineteen werewolves had walked into the diner to speak with Klaus and an hour later he had all nineteen of them swearing their allegiance and broken into groups to complete the assigned tasks he'd doled out. From what he had counted, only a handful of the weres hadn't come to meet him. They would be easily enough dealt with once the others were away. There were e a few tasks that needed to be completed before they could venture into New Orleans, housing to be procured for them and a few more loose ends on his part to hammer out and then he'd have them return. He'd gotten notice that Caroline had called halfway through the meeting, unable to listen to the voicemail right away, but he'd made sure that Tyler could see her name on the screen as it rang silently on the table in front of him.

Oh how he wished he could hear what was going on in his hybrid's head. The boy wasn't that good at hiding his emotions and the anger radiating off of him only fueled Klaus' amusement. Once the weres were dismissed, Klaus picked up his phone, not bothering to spare a glance at Tyler who wasn't able to leave the booth because of compulsion. Klaus' smile faded as soon as he heard Caroline's message, irritated with the fact that Patrick had been foolish enough to get caught, but even more so that she thought he would allow her to erase him from her life.

Klaus dialed Patrick's number first, ignoring the Lockwood boy who was curiously watching him, though Tyler wasn't too sure if should be amused or annoyed by what he had heard of the message. "You seriously did not just try to call your lackey first," Caroline answered on Patrick's phone, clearly annoyed before all he could hear was the dial tone.

She hung up on him. On  _him._

Klaus glared down at the offending object before dialing her number. "Sweetheart," he started, trying to sound placating which only seemed to annoy the girl further as he could hear her huff on her end.

"Don't you even  _think_  of sweethearting me!" Caroline growled, and it was probably bad that he smiled at that sound, enjoying the huskiness to her voice when she did so. Klaus leaned back in the booth, ignoring Tyler and wondering what she had to say. He knew by then that the best course of action was to allow Caroline to get her rant out of her system before speaking. "Why the hell have you assigned me my own personal stalker? I do not need a vampire following my every damn move. This is not in the friendship clause! Do I need to make you an actual clause of what you are and are not allowed to do? Because you know I will. I like lists, Klaus. I will make you a damn list and have you sign it and agree to it."

Klaus noticed Tyler clenching his fists, no doubt hearing every word that transpired between the two of them, and his smile only grew wider at the thought. _Do you see now, little whelp? You've already lost her and didn't even know it._  "Would you like me to sign it in blood, love?"

"This is not a joke, Klaus!" He could picture her stamping her foot at that, the indignant look on her face that she had directed at him over the prom dress incident burned in his mind. "Why the hell am I being followed?"

"Surely you've realized your penchant for ending up in trouble by now," he started, and from her little warning growl knew that line of explanation wasn't going to cut it. "There are certain factors that make it necessary for me to wish to ensure your safety. The situation in New Orleans has begun to take a turn for the chaotic and I would rather you not be pulled into the crossfire." While he had taken several steps to ensure that no one knew of Caroline, Klaus wasn't a fool. Getting to her,  _hurting_  her, would be the perfect way to attack him and he would not have her harmed because of him.

He had been right all of those years ago when he had told Elijah that love was a weakness. His love for the baby vampire was one of his greatest, but Klaus had come to realize that he would rather have her in his life in whatever capacity was available and be that weakness than live without her at all.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she grumbled, breaking him from his thoughts and it was his turn to scoff at her answer. Not even two weeks ago he had saved her life from the ghostly witches. "I do not need some sort of stalkerish bodyguard. I'm not even  _in_  Mystic Falls so anyone who might be looking for me would have a helluva time locating me."

"Yes,  _about that_ , as happy as I am that you've decided to go out into the big wide world, I do wonder why you're venturing on a road trip with someone you met only a few days ago." Someone that he had been unable to gather any intel on and that worried him.

"Don't you  _dare_  try to make this about me! Call off your damn stalker, Klaus Mikaelson." He knew she was frustrated with the situation, but he would send a thousand compelled vampires to ensure her safety if needed.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Caroline." Klaus could hear her sigh in a mixture of anger and frustration and turned his attention to the Lockwood boy sitting beside him. "However, I am glad you called, and not simply because I was able to hear your voice." He couldn't help but laugh at her breathed out curse word. "You'll never guess who I found traipsing through the bayou out here."

"I doubt I care who you found," Caroline replied, clearly ready to end the call, but her curiosity having her stay on for a moment longer.

Klaus held out the phone. "Go on, mate," he urged, and then compelled the boy to answer the phone. Klaus leaned back, ready to watch the chaos unfurl.

Tyler hesitated for a moment, but the compulsion won and he picked up the phone, listening for a moment. "Are you actually going to tell me who or what, Klaus?" Caroline asked, and Tyler's heart clenched at the sound of her voice.

"Care…" He didn't' know what else to say, what to do. He hadn't wanted her to find out about this task, didn't know how to explain that he had been lying to her for a few weeks.

"Tyler?" Her voice broke as she said his name and he closed his eyes, just imaging the look of betrayal on her face. "But you...you're in South Carolina...you said…"

"Oh yes, Tyler, what little lie have you been spinning to sweet Caroline?" Klaus murmured, and Tyler wanted to wipe the smirk off the older Hybrid's face, but he knew he had to focus on Caroline. Except, wait. He wasn't the only one spilling half-truths or lies, now was he?

"Since when the hell did you start talking with Klaus on the phone?" Tyler demanded, his anger getting the better of him. He knew he should be working on damage control, but he was seeing red and his werewolf side had always been so strong. "Why does he have your number? Why do  _you_  have his number? I'm running for my life, staying hidden and safe and you've started playing phone tag with the man who murdered my mom."

Klaus listened into the phone call, prepared to rip the phone from the boy's hand if it got too upsetting, but this was a conversation that needed to happen. No doubt Caroline would be angry at him, but she needed to face what was happening and he was more than prepared to help push her into doing so.

"We kind of became friendly? I don't know how it happened, Tyler, but all the working together and just. It's just friendship, nothing more," Caroline told him, her voice pleading with him to understand. "He saved my life. He helped me…"

"Helped you what? Get a prom dress?" Tyler demanded, remembering Klaus' words about that article of clothing. "What did you have to do to get that dress, Caroline?"

"I suggest you don't stoop so low in your questioning," Klaus warned, though he was unable to keep all the amusement out of his voice. As much as he would have enjoyed Caroline thanking him for the dress in the way the whelp was implying, the fact she had come to him for help had really been enough.

"You did not just imply I'm a whore, Tyler Lockwood," Caroline hissed. "He was just helping me out. He has like a hundred dresses and it's not like he wears them so he could go without another one."

"Another one? When the hell did you get one before the prom?" Tyler asked, and Klaus could see the tension building up in the young man. No doubt he wanted to break something.

"For the ball...when you were gone the first time. Do we have to talk about this right now? I know he's listening. Why are you even with him? Why aren't you in South Carolina? What's going on?" She was trying to steer the conversation back to him, but it seemed the boy hadn't listened past her first sentence.

"When he gave you that stupid picture?" Tyler growled, fist slamming into the table and Klaus grinned at the split wood left under his wake.

" _Tyler_ ," Caroline sighed, and Klaus could just imagine her running a hand through her hair, frustrated with the conversation. He wondered if she was biting her lip in that enticing way she did when she was worried. "It doesn't matter how many pictures he draws me-"

"Did you bring it with you?" Tyler interrupted, and Klaus arched a brow. Now that question certainly intrigued him. "Did you bring the damn picture with you on whatever road trip you're going on?"

There was silence on her end for the longest moment, confirming Tyler's suspicions and causing Klaus to feel an overwhelming sense of victory. "Tyler, I..."

"Save it, Care." Tyler dropped the phone on the table in front of Klaus. "Looks like you got what you wanted."

_I always do._ "Go on, mate," Klaus told him, allowing the boy to walk away, knowing he needed to destroy something. He wouldn't be able to go far anyway. Klaus picked up the phone, nearly hanging it up, he'd been sure she would after Tyler's last words, but he could still hear her on the other end of the line. She was crying and while it pulled at his nonexistent heart strings, it was something he was certain had needed to happen.

"I hate you," she breathed into the phone. "You can take your fancy drawings and your statements about last loves and your stupid dreams and shove them up your ass."

"Now, sweetheart," Klaus started, only to be interrupted by her once again.

"Go to hell." She hung up before he could answer and Klaus placed the cell down on the table.

Perhaps he had been too hasty, too impulsive with his decision to hand over the phone to Tyler. He didn't like her being in pain, but no, this hadn't technically been caused by him. He had merely given the boy the phone. The conversation could have gone in multiple directions. It was the boy's fault that he had decided to be defensive, not Klaus'.

Besides, she kept his drawing. She was carrying it with her on her little road trip.

He'd give her some time before contacting her again, little doubt in his mind that she would answer.

* * *

"Come on, come on," she breathed out, listening to the phone ring, sighing in frustration as she reached Tyler's voicemail once again. They had to talk about everything. She just needed to explain that what he was probably thinking wasn't how things were, but as she dialed his number once again, Caroline wondered what she would even say if he did pick up.

I'm sorry I friended the man who ruined your life, didn't seem like the way to go. Nor did denying anything happening between her and Klaus, because while nothing had occurred in the way Tyler was implying, something  _had_ happened and she was finding it harder and harder to deny that fact.

_I fancy you. Is that so hard to believe?_

_Because he's obsessed with you._

_Honestly, I don't know what my brother sees in you._

_How did you even get Klaus to agree to give up one of his Hybrids?_

_We're the same, Caroline._

_You won't have to feel guilty about all the dirty thoughts you have about Klaus._

_Friends, then?_

_You know you have him wrapped around your little finger, right?_

Caroline slid down the wall, letting her emotions take over for the moment and dropped the phone down in front of her as she hugged her knees close to her chest. She was grateful that Caleb and Patrick had left her to deal with Klaus' phone call on her own, picking up dinner for the three of them. She didn't want either of them to see her as she currently was, crying hard into her knees as she rocked herself back and forth. Her head was a mess, but it seemed to be doing better than her heart. The constant tug of war that it was playing with her emotions was going to drive her insane.

She loved Tyler Lockwood, she was certain of it. He'd been there with her through some tough times and hadn't cast her off because of her vampirism. He'd done what he could to break free from the Sire bond for her. He understood what she was going through, the overwhelming emotions, the lust-both blood and other. He loved her.

The problem was that as much as she loved him she was beginning to think she wasn't  _in love_  with him any longer. Like she'd been with Matt. She had loved her friend with all of her heart, but time had moved on, and there had come a point when she was no longer in love with him. And as much as Tyler seemed to understand her, there was part of her that wondered if he would ever completely grasp who she was or if she would ever be able to do the same for him.

It scared her to think that she might have been holding onto the relationship with him to hide from something else. Some other feelings that were bubbling under the surface and wanting to spill out from her. Feelings she adamantly didn't want to have, but knew trying to fight them back was a losing battle.

She remembered her words to Stefan at prom as she had tried to comfort him over Elena being with Damon and the uncertainty of who she would even pick if her emotions were turned back on or if she ever got the cure. _I think someday, you'll meet someone new and you'll fall madly in love and you'll have moved on without even realizing it._  That's what had happened with both Matt and Tyler. She hadn't meant to fall for either of them, not really, but she had done so and she had fallen hard and fast.

And along came Klaus with his smooth words, his fancy drawings, and seeing right into the very core of her and she had balked at him, rolled her eyes, and tried to ignore what he offered. At first because she was certain it was a trap, that she was just part of an elaborate game for him, something that probably had to do with Tyler. Except he kept on coming, kept on dragging her back into his overwhelming darkness and she waited for it to consume her, to blot out the light he was always saying she had, but instead being near him only seemed to accentuate it. And so she had kept circling around him, still sharing barbs, but there had been smiles as well and those smiles had led to phone calls, to texts, and voicemails she never should have left.

Everything was a mess and she didn't know what to do, but she hadn't been lying to Silas when he had approached her as Klaus. She was afraid of him, terrified of who she would become if she finally gave into his advances, of how much she truly did long to have her 'perfect feathers ruffled'. She also feared that she was wrong and he didn't really love her, that it really all was a game and once he had her that he'd fling her aside like so many others. Wasn't it better to string it along, enjoy the little moments they had and continue their dance so that she would never have to find out the truth?

Caroline desperately wanted to talk to Bonnie, but even if she could get through to her best friend she knew she wouldn't have a clue what to say. Bonnie would never approve of her feelings, none of her friends would. She knew that and so she tried so hard to force them down, to continue to be who they needed her to be, but all of them had gone their own way for the summer and her ability to ignore what was festering inside of her was becoming harder and harder to control.

She heard the door begin to open and wiped at her eyes, trying to get her emotions under control before the two men stepped inside. Caleb had been in the middle of saying something funny, but one look at her had him stopping his joke, and looking at her with concern. Caroline didn't know what exactly happened after that, just that once she caught sight of Patrick, she was overwhelmed by her fury and she lunged at the older vampire.

He was on his back in seconds with her kneeling over top of him, hissing as she regarded him. If  _he_  hadn't followed them...if  _he_  hadn't been stupid enough to get caught...Her eyes narrowed, her anger rolling off of her in waves again, and if she'd been focusing on anything but his face she might have noticed that the lights in the room had begun to flicker. Patrick's face began to turn ashen, eyes widening in horror as he stared up at her, seemingly desiccating before her eyes. She had her hands on his shoulders to hold him down, light surrounding them and drawing light from him into her own body. Caroline flinched back, wondering what the hell was going on. She pushed herself off of him watching as the vampire slowly altered back to normal and Caleb was shoving a blood bag into his hands.

"Time for you to go into the other room." Caleb nodded to the adjoining door and the other vampire didn't hesitate, glancing back at her for a moment before closing the door to leave them alone.

Caroline was shaking, staring down at her hands. The glow was gone, so much like the one her great grandmother had engulfed her with before she had disintegrated, and Caroline tried to make sense of what had just happened. "The harbinger can decide who lives or dies in battle. Killing with her touch or marking those who will continue to live on when the war is over or her touch can mark those who will die," Caleb told her, and she looked up at him.

Her grandmother had been right. She really was an angel of death. "So what? Now I can't touch anyone?" Because she didn't want to go around accidentally nearly killing anyone.

"No. I'd say for a second you really did want Patrick dead because of whatever happened during your conversation with...Klaus." He couldn't help but shudder slightly at the man's name. "But when you realized what you were doing you knew you didn't so it stopped. Your emotions just got the better of you."

Great. Something else she was going to have to work to control. How freaking perfect. Like it wasn't hard enough to control the damn bloodlust at times. Caroline sighed; grabbing the bag of tacos from the table Caleb had dropped them on and tore into one.

"So the phone call didn't go well?" Caleb prompted, picking up his own bag. Caroline shrugged. She hadn't really expected it to anyway. It had simply taken an even more drastic turn for the worse than she had foreseen. "So what are we going to do with that one?" Caleb jutted a thumb toward the other room. "Which, don't worry, he can't leave that room until I lift the spell I put there."

Caroline remembered another spell locking Klaus into the Gilbert living room. She remembered a bite on her neck and nearly dying because of his stubbornness, a conversation she never thought she would have with him, before having him cradle her like she was something precious and saving her life once again. She remembered Tyler trying to beg for her life, attempting to comfort her before leaving her alone with Klaus. Even then he must have sensed the pull she had on the Original.

She shook her head, not wanting to think about either of them. "Well, if we let him go he'll probably go back to Klaus and have his heart ripped out and Klaus will just send someone else to come and stalk me." Because Caroline knew there was no way he'd let up if he believed she was in danger. "Probably better if we keep him with us. You never know, maybe he'll be useful later on." She had no clue how, but maybe she'd at least be able to get some more information on what exactly was happening in New Orleans that had Klaus fearing for her life.

Caleb nodded, looking down at her abandoned phone. "You gonna be okay?"

Caroline couldn't quite meet his gaze, not really wanting to go into any of it with anyone at the moment. "I always am."

Caleb didn't hesitate in wrapping his arm around her shoulder and tugging her close so she could lean against him. Caroline sobbed at the contact, wrapping her hands in his shirt as she lay her head against his shoulder and let the tears come back again. In the morning she would pick herself back up and carry on, but for now, she let herself get lost in her emotions, grateful for Caleb's silence and comforting embrace.

 


	7. Chapter 7

_Even angels have their wicked schemes_  
_And you take that to new extremes_  
_But you'll always be my hero_  
_Even though you've lost your mind_ __  


* * *

"What am I going to do with you?"

Klaus looked at the sulking hybrid who was leaning against the tree, glaring at the ground and then at him once he'd spoken. There was always the option of killing him, but Klaus wanted him alive. Wanted to see this broken, angry look in the boy's eyes for as long as possible. He had given him a  _gift_ , allowed him freedom from the moon and Tyler had thrown that gift back in his face, tried to kill him, turned the rest against him, and thought himself someone important, someone who could usurp control from him. Klaus had gotten his retribution; killed the pack the boy had tried to take from him and murdered his mother. Nearly had done away with him as well, but a small mercy had been extended. One the whelp had carelessly thrown away.

There was always the option of letting him go off on his own again, but what worried Klaus was where the Lockwood boy would end up. Obviously not Mystic Falls. There was nothing waiting for him there and he didn't need Tyler causing any problems for him in New Orleans. Though his compulsion from earlier should hold. The boy wouldn't be able to tell the wolves anything about him. It'd be simple enough to enforce that with not allowing him to speak ill of Klaus to anyone. Mostly, he wanted Tyler to suffer and Klaus couldn't ensure countless centuries of suffering for the boy if he was dead.

Tyler hadn't spoken; instead he'd watched the Original, trying to figure out what was going on in Klaus' head. He had no idea how the situation would turn out, but he did know that baiting him wasn't a good idea. Not that he cared much about anything at the moment. The bastard had finally taken the last thing from him that he had left in the world and no matter how many missed calls he got from Caroline, nothing was going to fix the mess that was their relationship.

"Rip out my heart and eat it for dinner?" So much for not baiting.

Klaus chuckled at the idea. "And miss out on you living out your miserable existence? I think not." He stepped closer, silently assessing the boy. "I do have to wonder what exactly you were doing here though. Why you were with these particular wolves?"

Tyler pressed his lips together, intent on not saying anything, but knew it was a losing battle. Klaus could always compel it out of him if he really wanted. He still hadn't been able to ingest any vervain. "Tell me and let's not leave out any details," Klaus compelled, watching the boy closely.

"Hayley called me shortly after you left me," Tyler replied immediately, though he sneered at Klaus in disgust at the tactic. "She's in trouble and thought that the weres might be her birth family and that they would be able to get her out of New Orleans."

The she-wolf. Of course she had called the boy and like the fool he was, Tyler Lockwood had come to help the girl. "And what trouble is it that she's currently in?" Klaus inquired, wondering what she had told him.

"The witches have her trapped there. She can't leave the city limits and it's your fault. They've tied her to them in order to have control over you." His brow scrunched in confusion. He had never quite understood that part. Why would tying Hayley to them matter at all to Klaus? Considering she had helped orchestrate the whole death plan it hadn't made too much sense, but Tyler had been able to hear the truth in her voice, her desperation shining through each time they had talked.

"A task that they'll learn soon enough was futile. I could care less if what they have done comes to fruition or not." What use did Klaus have for an heir when he would live forever? He should never have listened to Elijah all those weeks ago and simply killed the girl then. It would have saved him weeks of headaches. He did find it interesting that the girl hadn't mentioned the pregnancy part to Tyler. Surely the boy would have told Caroline about that revelation as soon as possible if he had known.

"So then get them to let her go," Tyler stated, and Klaus arched a brow at him, amused that the boy had any positive feelings toward the girl who had so easily betrayed him. Or that he thought Klaus would even do such a thing.

"What do I care if she lives or dies?" Klaus shrugged, and focused his attention back on Tyler. He could see the inner struggle in the boy before he received an answer. His loyalty to the members of his pack was something Klaus had once admired in the boy, before he'd disregarded all the good Klaus had done for him.

"I'll come back with you," Tyler bit out, each word a struggle to say. It wasn't what he wanted to do. He wanted to be as far away from Klaus as possible, but he knew he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of leaving Hayley behind. Not when she had reached out to him for help. "She lives and you'll get my loyalty." And then whatever debt he felt he owed to Hayley would be paid.

Klaus laughed at the proposition. "And let you try and gather my newly found forces against me?" How stupid did the boy think he was? It would be much easier to banish him from New Orleans or compel him to only be able to reside in one place for his eternity. Somewhere crowded and without any of the wilderness his wolf side would crave.

And yet, the idea wasn't without some merit. He could compel the boy to never be able to work against him, to stay off vervain, and the idea of having another hybrid at his side when the final battle came was appealing. Tyler would be easy enough to kill if he tired of the boy's presence. Not to mention, considering the phone call with Caroline the other day, it might not be a bad idea to show that he was still extending Tyler mercy when she did finally speak to him again.

"You will never engage in a plan that against me again," Klaus began, the compulsion starting and he could see Tyler's shoulders sag in defeat. It was a look he quite enjoyed seeing on the hybrid. "And if for some reason you manage to do so, you will return to Mystic Falls and kill as many people as you can before you rip out your own heart." There was a brief struggle in the boy's body at what he'd be forced to do, but as Tyler spoke the instructions back to him, Klaus couldn't help but be pleased with the turn of events.

Things were shaping up quite nicely for him.

He took Tyler's phone from him, seeing the countless missed calls from Caroline as he programed his number into the boy's cell. He did take note that there didn't seem to be any more calls from her since two hours ago.

"Now, you'll be heading to New Orleans and I need you to look into some places for our new brethren to be able to set up residency. Nothing too fancy, but something they wouldn't mind calling home." After all, Klaus did want to impress upon them how following him would be beneficial to them and their existence would be better than it had been in the bayou. "Do keep a low profile, but feel free to go out and drown your sorrows, engage in some meaningless sex to try and get sweet Caroline out of your mind."

He smirked as he handed back the phone, enjoying the rage on the young man's face, and the balled fists of anger. To his credit, Tyler managed to reel it back in, knowing what was at stake if he didn't manage to do so. "Call me once you've completed the task and perhaps then I'll let you see the she-wolf." If Klaus even allowed her to continue to live, though that wasn't something for Tyler to worry about. "Surely you didn't think I'd allow you what you wanted right away."

It'd be much more fun to make the boy work for it. He was about to turn and walk away from the boy, leave him to find his own way to New Orleans, but stopped, and flashed back around to him. "And remember this, if somehow you manage to shake off the compulsion and you do come after me, I will hunt you down and I will take away anything that you have left."

"You've already taken everything from me," Tyler bit out, unable to hold back his emotions any longer. "There isn't anything else to take but my life." Klaus grinned at that, unable to help but be pleased. "She'll never love you. Whatever you did to her, for her to accept this so-called friendship, she'll see through it. And I'll be the one laughing when she leaves with your heart." If he even had a heart. Tyler doubted that he did, but he hoped that Caroline crushed it.

The problem with the boy's assessment was that she already had his heart. Klaus had unwittingly given it to her some time ago and he didn't think he would ever be able to get it back from the girl, nor did he want to. He only wanted for her to reciprocate the gesture and allow him to have her own. "That's your problem, mate. I never did anything special. I was simply there when she needed me. Let her glimpse what the world truly has to offer the likes of her. Now run along and carry out your duties. I'd hate to see anything happen to your little friend because you failed to please me."

Klaus turned away at that, walking away from Tyler, smiling to himself the entire way to his car.

* * *

"I own this?" Caroline stared at the expanse of land that lay before them past the iron gate that was slowly opening. Tall pine trees lines either side of the paved road, but peeking behind the trees she could make out some of the house that was now hers. She was almost afraid of exactly how big it was. The stone wall that surrounded the property seemed to go on for miles.

She strummed her fingers on the steering wheel, pretending she was tapping them to the beat of the song on the radio, but really it was nervous tension. Caleb looked up from his phone, having been texting his aunt to let her know they had arrived. "Built in 1934 if I remember correctly. It was the early 1930s at least. And Fai says this one isn't as big as some of the others"

"You are so not helping," she told him with a glare, but there was no heat behind her look. Turning back, she shook her head and proceeded to drive forward. "So who's the guy we're meeting?" Why was there a guy? Would he like her? Would he compare her to her now dead great grandmother? Was he human or something else? Her mind was a mess of questions, but as the car inched along the seemingly never-ending driveway, all of those questions evaporated as she finally took in the Tudor mansion waiting at the top of the small hill. "No,  _seriously?_  I own this?!"

"Mr. Tremble. He's the caretaker for this house. I'm pretty sure each of the properties has one," Caleb informed her, and Caroline was pleased to hear the slight awe in his voice as he finally took in the house. "I think this guy actually lives on it though. Because of the guest house."

"There's a  _guest house_?!" Of course there was one of those. Were there different kinds of cars stashed in the garage as well? Wait. No. She didn't really want to think about what was probably _inside_  the house considering she was still in awe of the architecture. The fact she actually owned the places was disconcerting enough.

As they neared the house they could see a man waiting for them near the front door and Caroline parked the car near him, mentally checking herself as he came around to open her door. "Miss Forbes," Mr. Tremble greeted, and she was pleased to see him smile at her. Though she was still a little thrown by all of the formality. He was on the short side, definitely shorter than her, but he carried himself like someone who had seen and done much in the world. If she was a gambler she would bet he was older than the fifty years that he looked. "I was informed that it would be you and the witch only."

Caroline looked over her shoulder as Patrick parked his own car behind hers and she shrugged, slipping out of the car. "Change of plans. I'm going to guess there's room for him somewhere inside though." Because the house seemed to go on for ages so there had to be more than three bedrooms, right?

"Of course. I'll have one of the other rooms set for him to occupy." He continued to smile, though she noticed it was a little tighter as he silently assessed the vampire exiting his own vehicle. "Shall we take a tour or would you prefer to get settled in first?"

Caroline blinked. Oh. Right. He was asking her that question. "I think we'll go with tour so no one gets lost." Because she was sensing that could be a possibility. "What do you two think?" She wasn't about to force the others to take one if they wanted to crash or something.

Patrick nodded his assent, no doubt not wanting to cause any commotion, while Caleb was checking his phone again, but absentmindedly nodded. "I'll have Douglas bring your bags up to your rooms then," Mr. Tremble informed her, and it was only then that Caroline took notice of the other man who was standing on the steps. Slightly taller than the first, but there was something about their noses that made her think they were somehow related. "He can also move your car into the garage and give it a wash."

It was her turn to nod, and she offered Douglas a smile as she handed over her keys. "You have to kind of fidget with the clutch. It likes to stick."

Mr. Tremble led the three up into the house and Caroline's belief that the inside of the house would be as opulent as the outside was confirmed as soon as they stepped through the threshold. A crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the foyer, two staircases leading up to another level with large oak doors lining the walls. There were couches that she was certain had never been used, plants she didn't know the name for on tables, along with decorative mirrors on the walls. It was a lot to take in and they had barely stepped inside.

"Through here you'll find one of the libraries," Mr. Tremble stated, motioning toward the first oak door. "On the other side is a study." The rest of the tour went by with Caroline in a daze as she tried to take in everything. There were more rooms than she knew what to do with. Really, who needed eleven bedrooms, and two libraries, or a billiards room, or...three dining rooms? It made so little sense to her considering the house she had grown up in. Even the Mikaelson mansion or the Lockwood Manor hadn't felt as grand as the house she was currently in and somehow it belonged to her. It didn't feel at all like her though, more like something she would have read about in books, or seen in a movie. It was from some other era that didn't quite jive with the one she lived in.

At least the pool outside was something normal...even if it was surrounded by alcoves with statues from other countries she couldn't even begin to identify in that moment. The caretaker had eventually led them all to their rooms, dropping of Patrick first and Caroline noticed Caleb placing another containment spell on his room. Caleb mentioned needing to catch up with his family, before Mr. Tremble led Caroline to her own room.

"I can only imagine this must all be a bit much at the moment," he said, his smile offering genuine sympathy. "I've given you the master bedroom. It was your great grandmother's. If you would like to sleep in a different one that can be arranged, but you are the new master of this place."

"It's probably kind of weird for you too, yeah? I mean, I'm guessing you've been working for her for like years and then just  _poof_  suddenly you have some eighteen year old being in charge." An eighteen year old who had no clue whatsoever as to what she was doing or supposed to do.

"I had been with her for nearly two hundred years. I saw this place built from the ground up and she let me be the one to take care of it. You might say taking care of houses is a specialty of mine." He smiled at that, and Caroline took that as permission to ask about what he was.

"You're not human, are you?" She probably shouldn't have been so blunt in her questioning, but well, better to know up front, right?

"I'm a Brownie." His smile broadened at her startled look. "Not quite what you pictured I'm sure, but then most beings from folklore don't quite meet expectations once you actually see them." She nodded, trying to remember exactly what she knew about brownies...the non-gooey chocolatey kind nor the girls dressed in brown outfits earning badges. "We look after houses. It's pretty much our life's ambition and I was lucky enough to have met Valencia and worked for her ever since. And now, I will do the same for you."

Caroline blew out an unneeded breath. Yeah, about that… "Um...I'm gonna go with just keep doing what you were doing because I honestly have no clue what I'm doing here." Should she even be admitting that? She wasn't sure, but she did know she felt comfortable in his presence and maybe it wouldn't hurt to be honest. She was a big proponent of it after all.

"You'll learn with time. Though hopefully, you'll get a chance to blossom into yourself before being thrust into everything head on." God how she hoped he was right because she really didn't want to be involved in any sort of war without having an idea about what she was even supposed to be accomplishing. But he was still talking and so she refocused her attention on Mr. Tremble.

"She used to roam all over the world, staying in each place for a few years before moving on, but Valencia lived here in this house for the last twenty years. Her twilight ones. She had known she was fading, had sensed your coming birth and then when it was confirmed, opted to live the life she could before her end." His smile had become sad and Caroline frowned, unsure what to say. "She had great plans for you, Caroline Forbes."

She wanted to ask him if he knew exactly what those plans might have been. No one else could tell her, but she refrained, and offered a small smile in return. "I'll leave you to get settled and start work on dinner. And if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask them." He paused as he opened the door. "Will your other guest and you require...special dietary needs?"

Oh crap the blood bags! "There are blood bags in the cooler in my car. If you could move them to the fridge, we'll be just fine using those. We'll probably need to stock up on more soon though." Because she'd only planned on feeding herself and while Patrick may not have enjoyed the blood bag diet, it wasn't like he could go snacking on anyone when he was trapped in a room most of the time.

Mr. Tremble was regarding her curiously. "You do not require anything...live?"

Caroline shook her head. "I prefer blood from a bag." It wasn't completely true. Blood from the vein was much more satisfying, but she could live on blood bags and be just fine so she didn't see the point in drinking directly from humans.

"I'll make sure you have some fresh bags in the fridge then." He smiled at her, pleased with her answer, before nodding his head and leaving her to explore her new room.

Caroline watched him go for a moment, not quite ready to enter the room that had once belonged to a woman she didn't even know and was suddenly hers. There was no point in delaying the inevitable though, and she opened the door, unsurprised that inside seemed to pretty much be the same as the rest of the house. There was nothing that really pointed to who her grandmother had been no family photos or paintings, no mementos like at her own house. Just more treasures that she didn't feel told her much aside from the fact Valencia had been old and well-traveled. At least there was that though. Being a harbinger didn't have to cut back on any of Caroline's travel the world plans.

Her bags were on the bed, and she noted that the closet and dresser drawers had been emptied. No doubt so she could fill them with her own clothes, but Caroline wasn't in the mood to place any kind of roots in the house. Not yet. She sat down on the canopied bed, bouncing a little as she did so and pulled out her phone. One missed call from her mother, a text from Tyler with just the word  _Sorry_ , and apparently four texts from Klaus that she deleted without reading.

Caroline made a mental note to call her mother later that night before dialing Stefan's number. Every ring that she heard squashed her hope that he would actually answer his phone just a little bit more. By the time she reached his voicemail, she was standing and looking out the window at the pool and expanse of land below. "It's me again," she started, trying to remain chipper as she spoke. "Just calling to see how your road trip is going. I'm on my own so maybe we'll cross paths or something. Or I'll just see you when we're both back in Mystic Falls." She paused, gaze falling on a folder she saw peeking out from under the bed. "I miss you."

Ending the call, Caroline picked up the folder and placed it down on the bed. She flipped through the various newspaper clippings and photographs that were inside, her frown deepening as she read about the various unexplained murders, the photos with the telltale signs of vampire bites being disregarded as animal attacks or unknown assailant. Letters came next, asking her great grandmother for help, but it was who was asking that Caroline found the most interesting. Witches cut off from their magic. Werewolves run out of what used to be there home. Obviously this was something Valencia would have been able to help with, somehow. But Caroline remembered Mr. Temple's words, she'd been fading, no longer able to meet her full potential and Caroline wondered if wherever this turmoil was happening was where she was supposed to go. She looked through the materials again, trying to discover where the place was located and froze as she found the city name.

_New Orleans._

Caroline slammed the folder shut, glaring at it as though it burned.  _Of course_  it was happening in the one place she desperately didn't want to step foot in. Why couldn't her luck take her somewhere far away from Klaus Mikaelson and his annoyingness? There hadn't been anything about him in the folder, though she'd noticed that the clippings ranged from back nearly twenty years to about a year ago. He'd only just returned to New Orleans so of course there wouldn't be anything about him in there yet.

Looked like keeping Patrick around had been a good decision. If anyone might have an idea of what Klaus was really getting up to in that city it might be him.

Her phone vibrated again and she looked down to see another text from Klaus. Caroline huffed, still very angry with him even if technically what happened between Tyler and her wasn't his fault. She shut off her phone and dropped it onto the bed, not wanting to deal with him. She had information to find out.

* * *

Caleb heard Caroline leave her room, and he hesitated for a moment on the phone, wondering if she was heading to talk to him, but let out a sigh of relief as he heard her enter Patrick's room. No doubt she would fill him in on whatever she was discussing with the vampire later. His focus needed to be on his current phone call, even if he didn't want to be having it.

"I don't know how long, okay?" he snapped, and rubbed a frustrated hand against his brow. He couldn't exactly force Caroline into going to New Orleans. He didn't  _want_  her going there. Not yet. Not without really understanding who she was and what was happening in that city. War was only going to be held back for so long, the emotions ready to boil over, and while Caleb was sympathetic to Sophie and her coven's plight he didn't want to give his life for them. Nor did he want Caroline to do so. "She has to make this decision on her own."

"I understand that, Caleb." He could hear the frustration in Sophie's voice and while usually it would tug at his heart, he wasn't feeling it that day. "But what we thought we had over Klaus isn't going to hold. I know it's not. We overestimated what we thought he might actually care about and use as leverage. He's a loose cannon that none of us can afford to have suddenly fire right now."

Caleb had an idea of what might actually matter to the infamous Klaus. A pretty, witty vampire with blonde curls that cascaded in front of her face making her seem more like an angel than a monster. And she was in the next room. "I can't help you with that," he lied, not feeling even a little guilty. "I'm doing my best here."

The other witch sighed over the phone. "I know you are. We'll figure out something. The last thing we need is for Klaus to kill Marcel before we get our magic back." Because if he did then it would be lost to them forever and that was something none of the witches of New Orleans could even fathom enduring. "I'll talk to you again soon."

Caleb hung up without a goodbye, looking up at the knock on his door. "Come in," he called, already pocketing his phone and smiled when he saw Caroline. It quickly turned to a frown though as he saw her, noting her anxious gaze. "What's wrong?" Surely Patrick hadn't done anything, but no, she looked unharmed.

"I know where we need to go," she told him, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it with a heavy sigh. He didn't need to ask where, not if she had found the information his aunt was supposed to leave for her to locate, but he sensed she'd be saying it anyway. "New Orleans. We have to go to New Orleans." She wasn't at all happy about the prospect and that showed in the way she pursed her lips. "But first, you and Mr. Tremble are going to fill me in on everything you know about what am I now and what I can do. I am not walking into that lion's den unprepared."

* * *

As soon as Klaus entered the townhouse he was attacked by Rebekah. He hadn't been sure if she'd end up decking him across the face or envelope him into a hug. It could go either way after the two had quarreled, usually both occurring at some point in the first few days of their reunion. Instead she threw a vase at him and then tried to throw a crystal bowl.

"It's good to see you as well, dear sister," he teased, voice nearly playful, but his gaze was dark with distrust. They had not parted on the best terms and he would not have her mess up his plans, no matter how he missed her. She would either toe the line as he needed her to, or he would find a way to take her out of the equation.

Rebekah threw a potted plant at him next, hissing when he easily sidestepped it. "Oh yes, that's why you weren't even here when I finally turned up." Not that he would have known she had been on her way, but details. She was allowed her annoyance with him after everything she had endured over the last year.

Klaus walked past her, certain there was nothing else for her to launch at his head. Her huff and the following footsteps indicating that he had been correct in his assessment. "I take it your room is to your satisfaction?" He sat down on one of the sofas, smiling as she flounced onto the one across from him.

"I take it you had everything carted out from storage. It's an exact replica of how it looked when we were in Brussels." She had enjoyed their stay there and from the small smile on Klaus' face as he remembered the place, she knew her brother had as well. "Draw the floor plan from memory and have one of your annoying minions go about putting it together? I do wonder who you're using as minions these days though." Considering he had murdered his go-to ones of the last year.

"Let's not be cruel, Rebekah," Klaus chastised, and she scoffed at that. He was one to call  _her_  cruel. "I'm guessing from your  _pleasant_  attitude that you saw Marcel? Did he remember you?"

Rebekah narrowed her eyes, regretting not sitting somewhere that would have given her easy access to more objects to throw at him. "You know very well that he does. And what of him? Your little protégé all grown up and King. And you...what are you now? A guest in his kingdom. That must burn." From his narrowed eyes, she knew she had hit a nerve. "Don't pout, Niklaus. It'll give you wrinkles."

"I suggest you hold your tongue," he snapped, ready to launch something at her in return when Elijah walked into the room.

"Rebekah, stop goading. Niklaus, stop being so easy to goad." He shook his head, chiding both of them like the petulant children that they were at times. It seemed some things would never change, no matter how long they lived.

"This is  _my house_ ," Klaus growled, rising to his feet, and glaring at the two of them. "I will not be told what to do within these walls. You are both here as a courtesy from me. One I can lift whenever I please."

Elijah didn't respond, moving to sit at the desk instead and Rebekah merely crossed her arms, not looking at him as she sulked. "Now that we have that out of the way, I have news, if you're interested," Elijah started, leaning back in the chair and watching as Klaus turned toward him. The Hybrid was still angered, but at least the expression on his face was no longer pure rage. "I was able to get feelers out to a number of our old crews. Quite a few will come when summoned. There are some I will need to meet in person to ascertain that their motives are pure, but you will have some on your side. And you, how did your side venture go?"

Klaus sat back down, bad mood seemingly vanishing at the news. He was going over the different scenarios in his mind, trying to determine who would be coming to join them of their own free will and who would need a little more convincing. "We'll have a nice little pack of werewolves on our side as well. And with witches unable to lift a finger against us this should be rather interesting."

Though, there was the matter of how Marcel was controlling them. They needed that information before they could take him down. He wanted to be able to have them at his mercy, just as they were currently for his young protégé. The Originals time in New Orleans when the witches had been in power had been pleasant enough, but the added power of having them under his control wasn't something Klaus could so easily pass up. "We need to know how that is happening though. And what we must do in order to take control of it."

Elijah and Klaus looked at Rebekah who had been examining her phone when she felt their eyes on her. She looked up, glaring at the both of them. "Absolutely not."

"Now Rebekah," Klaus started, and she chucked her phone at him. He could buy her a new one if it was damaged.

"I am not some whore to sleep with the enemy to get information you need," she bristled, crossing her arms as she glowered at them.

"How you go about getting the information is up to you," Elijah started, trying to play the role of peacemaker.

It didn't matter though as Klaus was steadfastly in the role of instigator. "Marcel might not even be interested in what you have to offer him anymore. He didn't exactly come running after you when we were forced to leave so the sex must not have been that entertaining."

Rebekah shrieked at that, kicking the coffee table as she rose. She didn't dignify him with a verbal response, storming out of the room and up to her own, door slamming shut as she locked herself inside. Klaus leaned back against the couch, grinning brightly at his handiwork. He ignored Elijah's frustrated sigh, pleased when his brother made no further comment. There was little doubt in Klaus' mind that Rebekah would do as needed to get the information once she had calmed down some.

Klaus took his sketchpad from its spot on the side table and set about finishing the idea he had needed to abandon when he had left earlier in the week. He heard something break upstairs, no doubt she was destroying some of her room in her anger, and Elijah moved to place one of the records on the player, letting the sound of Mozart fill the room to drown out her tantrum. Just another typical day with what was left of his family.

* * *

Mr. Tremble poured another round of tequila into the glass tumblers, passing one to Caleb and Caroline. The three sat at the table in the kitchen, finally going over what in the world Caroline had even become. If anyone would have an idea it would be the Brownie who had been with her great grandmother for nearly two centuries.

"Everything you are now is based on your emotions," the older man began, leaning back in his chair as he regarded the two young adults across from him. Barely out of their teenage years and having no clue at what they were truly about to face. "Some of it to a degree more than other aspects, but your emotions will tie it all in. Caleb said you caught yourself using your power on the vampire upstairs." The two nodded, though neither spoke, instead fiddling with their glasses in their own way. "Why don't you explain what you saw, Caleb?"

"Uh...which time?" Caleb asked, frowning as he tried to formulate the words to explain it properly. "At the gas station, you were definitely able to persuade-"

"That was just my cheerleader voice," Caroline interrupted, huffing lightly at the insinuation that it had been anything spectacular.

"Your cheerleader voice was able to get the three hundred year old vampire to cower in your presence and answer whatever questions you asked instead of flashing the hell away when my concentration broke?" The incredulous look he gave her caused Caroline to glare at her drink. "Because that's what happened. And your authoritarian voice is probably really good, but I doubt it can talk a vampire out of getting away for his own survival. Plus…" Caleb paused, running a hand through his afro. "There was the whole sky darkening because of your anger thing. And the wind whipping up."

She looked back up at him, her turn to give him an incredulous look. "No it didn't…" She vaguely remembered the wind whipping her blonde curls. Wind that seemed to disappear once she had her emotions under control. "So what I control the weather?"

Mr. Tremble laughed; clearly not swayed by the glare she directed his way. "Not quite. More like it will react to you if you're in a particularly nasty mood. That will come under control with time and practice. But I do not believe that was all either of you have seen of what you can now do."

Caroline sighed, staring down at her hands, remembering what they had looked like only the other day. White light seeping out of them, surrounding the two of them and bringing light out of the vampire. She'd felt like she was being encompassed by warmth at the time, even as her anger had raged inside. "I kinda did that glow thing my grandmother did when I was really pissed off at Patrick and he sort of started desiccating before our eyes." She wondered how long it would have taken for it to truly take effect. The other vampire still looked at her hands in fear every so often.

"And the lights flickered," Caleb added, before downing some of his drink.

"I'm sure you realize by now that you were extracting his life force from him. Or, well, I'm not quite certain what it is for a vampire, but whatever it is that allows him to continue to walk around alive while he should be dead. It'll be a bit different looking depending on the species you use it on. That one will come into play only when you are angry enough, determined enough to use it. And you won't need much practice with it if you were able to break free from its allure the first time you accidentally tried it out." She wasn't quite able to determine the look he was directing at her, almost as if he was studying her. "How many have you killed as a vampire, Caroline?"

She looked back down at her own drink, taking another sip. "Enough." Sometimes she thought too many to count, but her body count was nowhere near anyone else's that she knew. Though apparently that was going to change. Did it count though if she didn't actually sink her fangs into them or snap their necks?

"And that first day when you turned?" he continued, and she sighed, not really wanting to relive the memory. It wasn't exactly her favorite day ever, waking up thinking Elena had tried to smother her to death and then everything going downhill from there.

"One. And I fed from the nurse but I compelled her to forget it all and she's fine. Has a kid now actually." Maybe her kinky sex compulsion had been a good thing?

"Seriously?" Caleb asked, and Caroline blew out unneeded air, crossing her arms as she looked at the two of them.

"Yes, okay. I killed one person on the day that I turned and…" And what? She had liked it, enjoyed it so much, and kept trying not to ever get back to that point. It hadn't been like with the witches. There had been no joy in that kill, only regret and satisfaction that Bonnie was alive.

"What Caleb means to say is your control is quite remarkable." Mr. Tremble poured more tequila into his own glass. "I'd wager that most vampires tend to go a little overboard on their first day with how many kills they do. And yet, you've been one for a year? Nearly two? And you drink from blood bags. Most would revel in what they had become."

"Most don't have their mom as the town Sheriff or their best friend be a witch and not want to disappoint either of them," Caroline snapped, and then pressed her hands to her temples. She didn't mean to take her frustration out on the two men. They were only trying to help. But they didn't understand. Maybe she didn't kill like so many other vampires, but it wasn't because she didn't want to. Her neurotic, control freak nature simply helped her contain the urge to do so. "Sorry. Anyway, can we go back to my abilities? I already know my vampire history. Caleb said something about being able to mark people for death or for life?"

Mr. Tremble raised his glass in acquiescence to her request. "That one you will need to work at. It doesn't kill right away nor will the fact you saved someone show right away. Valencia told me that it is something you must truly wish to happen or it will not work. You will falter at it more often than not in the beginning and surprisingly the colors will be opposite of what you would expect. When you touch for death, a lightness will seep from you into them. For life, it will be a shadow."

Caroline lifted up her hands. "Um...how do I even practice that?" Because like hell she was going to do so on actual people! "I can't exactly go walking up to random people and marking if they live or die. Strike that, I  _won't_  do that." And no one could make her.

Caleb pushed away his glass, nodding vigorously. "Yeah, I'm gonna agree with Caroline…"

Mr. Tremble raised his hands, trying to hold off any arguments, and smiled gently at the two of them. "And you will not have to. What you need to practice is getting the light and the shadow to actually come forth from you."

The two relaxed a little at that, but were still looking at him warily. "And how do we do that?" Caleb asked, because he was coming up empty and from Caroline's sigh he had a pretty good feeling she was also at a loss.

Caroline really didn't like how the man pressed his lips together then, looking at them both uncertainly. "I do not know."

She slumped in her chair, aggravated. It was like every time she got one answer another fifty questions rose to take its place. "Of course not," she grumbled, and instantly felt bad at the hurt look on the Brownie's face. She straightened herself up, running a hand through her hair to try and control her annoyance. "Sorry, Mr. Tremble. Just a lot to take in but you've been really helpful." He couldn't be faulted for not knowing something.

"We'll figure it out," Caleb assured. "I bet my grandmother might have some ideas in her grimoires. I'll call her." He was out of the chair and calling on his phone before either could answer.

"I am sorry I could not be of more assistance," Mr. Tremble stated, reminding her a bit of a kicked puppy and Caroline smiled at him.

"I think you've been able to tell me more than anyone else has so far," she told him, and she watched him relax a little at her words. "Like seriously, now at least I know light means death and shadow means life which is  _weird_  but I'll go with it." She glanced over at Caleb, watching him walk out the door to the patio in order to talk. Turning her attention back to the Brownie, she wondered if maybe he would have more information for her on New Orleans. "Do you know why Valencia stayed away from New Orleans?"

"I was wondering when you would ask me that," he replied, his expression saddening for a moment before he rose and headed over to the counter. "I think I'll make us some coffee. Lord knows you both might need it to stave off a hangover."

Caroline didn't move from her spot, giving him the space and time he seemed to need before he could answer the question. "The trouble in that city started once her powers began to fade. She could have gone and helped as soon as she sensed the chaos beginning, but doing so would have forced you into becoming a harbinger much earlier than one should ever become one. I believe you were six when it had reached the point where she knew someone would need to step in and help." She watched him busy himself with the fancy coffee maker, trying to even remember what she had been doing at six and how she would definitely not have been able to handle any of this at that age. "Not that New Orleans hadn't been slowly falling into chaos for nearly a hundred years by that point. First the attack that left quite a bit of the vampire population dead and drove the Originals from its limits. Then the werewolves were banished. And after that the witches fell and the vampire took control. The balance was upset and it needs to be restored, but she couldn't chance you having to come into your powers at such an early age to head off that chaos."

She nodded as he turned back to her, leaving the machine to do its magic. "That was why she waited until after your graduation. She knew that by then you would be able to do what is necessary," he told her, sitting down across from her once again.

"I don't know if I can," Caroline told him. It was all so much. And who was she to decide who lived or who died? Though hadn't she done that before? Elena's life had hung in the balance and she had agreed to the date with Klaus, knowing that doing so would mean a hybrid would lose his life.

"I think that you will learn exactly what you are capable of in the next few weeks," Mr. Tremble told her, heading back to the machine as Caleb returned.

"Alright, my grandma is sending me some scans via email and ideas on how to practice your shadow versus light thing." Caleb sat down beside her. "We'll leave tomorrow, practice along the way to New Orleans? I mean knowing you; it's so not going to be a straight shot. I'm sure we'll have to stop off at every roadside fruit stand and weird tourist trap."

Caroline was grateful at the attempt to cheer her up and laughed, though not as brightly as usual. She was too lost in her thoughts to do that. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

"Are you going to stare daggers at me the entire time, Rebekah?" Klaus asked as they walked into the bar. His sister was overdressed, wearing a slinky red dress that he thought left little to the imagination, but he wasn't about to try and talk her out of her clothing choices considering the precariousness of their current bond. He needed her on his side at the moment and so if she wished to dress as she was then he would let her as long as she accomplished what he needed.

Neither of them had reached the point at putting past wrongs behind them. Too stubborn to move on from the heinousness they had dealt one another, though Klaus was certain it would only be a matter of time before they did so. Forever was too long a time to write off a sibling, no matter how hard he tried to do it at times. And with Rebekah it had always been a bit different. She had stood beside him at times when even Elijah and Kol had floundered. A hundred years was about as long as he could stand being separated from his sister and even that had been pushing it.

"So what if I am?" she bristled, smoothing down her hair as they headed toward the bar. "It's not like I'm here to spend any time with you anyway."

She had her own mission, as did he, and conveniently one of them was already at the bar. "Well isn't she a pretty little thing," Rebekah murmured, eyes narrowing for a moment as she sussed out the bartender doling how drinks, before she plastered on a sparkling smile. She slid onto a stool, Klaus following beside her.

"Painting guy," Cami greeted, flashing him a smile and he offered her one back as he casually pulled out his phone to check for messages. Still nothing from Caroline. Not even a reply text. He was becoming annoyed at the lack of contact. It had been three days since they last spoke and he had become accustomed to hearing from her more often than that. Perhaps he had been a little hasty in having Tyler speak to the girl, but surely she had deserved to know of the boy's lies.

Rebekah arched a brow at the nickname for her brother, wondering when the two had met, but refrained from asking questions "I'm Rebekah. This one's much more fabulous younger sister. I'll have a martini and I'm sure this glum one would like a scotch."

"Not on the rocks," Cami remembered, turning to fulfill the order.

"So how often do you come here that she already knows your drink, dear brother?" Rebekah asked, watching as Klaus didn't even acknowledge her question. She noted that it wasn't out of spite that time, but more so because he seemed rather distracted. "Nik," she urged, placing a hand on his arm that rested on the bar.

That seemed to snap him out of whatever thought he had been lost in and he shrugged. "Marcel enjoys this place. Or well," Klaus let his gaze linger on the blonde behind the counter. "He enjoys her." Not so much the rest of the establishment. "If you look toward the back, in the kitchen, you'll see Sophie. Elijah's new best friend." He smiled at his own joke, remembering the terse conversation between the two of them only a few hours before. Witches. Always wanting the upper hand.

"But she's a human," Rebekah pouted, glancing over Cami once more, clearly not sensing what was so intriguing about the woman. "She's not even that pretty."

"Don't pout. It'll give you wrinkles," Klaus smirked, throwing her own words back at her and chuckled to himself as she huffed. Cami returned with their drinks then, and Klaus offered another smile, amused that Rebekah appeared to be keeping up the appearance of civility.

"So you're a bartender?" Rebekah asked, trying not to sound too disinterested in the job description. "Must meet quite a few characters in this place."

Klaus brought the glass to his lips, trying not to smirk at the conversation between the two women. If nothing else, it should amuse him for the night. He hoped the main reason they had come to the bar would show up though, not really wanting to waste too much time on a mission that couldn't happen. Thankfully, Marcel chose that moment to slip in behind the two, clapping Klaus on the shoulder before leaning in to kiss Rebekah on the cheek in greeting.

"Camille," he said, flashing a grin at the bartender. "The usual, if you don't mind."

The bartender flitted away and Rebekah rubbed at her cheek with one of the napkins. "Marcel," his sister greeted, glaring at him, though Klaus noted it lacked any of her bite. Hopefully she would be able to do her task and get some information out of the vampire.

Klaus tuned the two of them out, not wishing to listen to the barbs they would throw at one another in their own unique way of flirting. He moved a few stools down to give the two of them some room, amused when Camille walked over to refill his drink. "How long have they known one another?" she asked, and he arched a brow at her curiosity.

No doubt she would say it was because of that degree of hers-psychology? psychiatry? physics? something like that-but from the slight frown on her face that she quickly covered up with her usual smile, he had a feeling it was more than clinical curiosity causing her to ask the question. "You might say centuries," Klaus informed her, smiling to himself. "Though, I suppose it simply seems that way at times. But enough about them. How long have you been in New Orleans?"

He didn't really care, but the idle chit chat allowed for him to remain at the bar, needing to ensure Rebekah would at least leave with Marcel. Whether or not she got anything out of him wouldn't be known for a few more hours. Thankfully it didn't seem to take Rebekah long to enthrall Marcel again, and the two of them left about thirty minutes after Marcel had arrived. Hopefully his sister didn't get any of her harebrained ideas about true love while trying to seduce the vampire. That was the last thing they needed to deal with on top of everything else.

Klaus was about to leave when his phone rang, showing a number he didn't recognize, but he knew from the area code was a Virginian number. It couldn't hurt to see who had the audacity to call him and learn how they had gotten his number. "Who is this?" he asked, keeping his tone light. Camille was nearby and he didn't need her saying anything to Marcel.

"Klaus? This is Klaus, right?" He arched a questioning brow at the familiar voice, confused as to why he was hearing it.

"Sheriff Forbes. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He really was rather curious as to why she would have tracked down his number.  _Caroline._  He frowned, not liking where his thought process was heading.

"Look. I don't want to talk to you so let's just cut the pleasantry act. I was ready to throw a damn parade when we realized you were gone from our lives for good," she started, but he could hear the tension in her voice. "But Caroline is on this road trip and she gave me your number. She said I was supposed to call if I didn't hear from her. It's been nearly four days and I haven't heard a thing."

Klaus was out of his chair in an instant, forcing himself not to look as frantic as he was feeling. He dropped a hundred on the counter, more than enough to pay his tab, flashed the bartender a grin before heading outside and toward his townhouse. "Do you know where she was when you last spoke to her?" he demanded, gazing around to make sure he wasn't being followed.

"Heading to Atlanta. She was at a hotel outside of it. I've been trying to track her phone, but it keeps going in and out of service areas and now it's just off. I don't know what that…" He could hear the turmoil in her voice, and refused to entertain the thoughts he knew the woman was having. "The last one for the phone trace was also in Georgia but further west. Near the Alabama border. I can text you the details."

"Do that." He entered his townhouse, ignoring the look from Elijah as he barreled into the room and flipped open the laptop. "I will find her, Sheriff Forbes. Make no mistake about that." Not locating her was simply not an option.

There was a pause before the woman spoke. Just two words, but he could tell she meant them. "Thank you."

They both hung up and he looked down at his phone again, noting the information in her text. "Niklaus," Elijah started, but Klaus shook his head, not having time for any questions.

"Must bloody technology take so long to load?" If he didn't know he needed it for what he was doing Klaus would have flung the laptop at the wall. There was always looking up the information on his phone, but he had learned more than once that the cell service in New Orleans wasn't always the best.

"Niklaus, what's wrong?" Elijah hadn't seen his brother look as frantic as he was in a long time. He almost couldn't remember the worry etched into his brother's face, as though his world was crumbling around him, the same look he had worn as he brought Henrik back into the village all those years ago.

"I do not have time for your prying, Elijah," Klaus growled. He had to focus on getting the information before letting blind rage take him over. He needed not to act on impulse here, it could get her hurt. Or worse. His mind was already a mess of thoughts, scenarios playing out of what might have happened. Did Marcel learn of her? Had the witches? Was the boy he couldn't seem to gather information on in league with the one of them and done something to her? Had someone else that he had dealt a blow to in the past learned of Caroline and what she meant to him? The list was too long for him to contemplate and he was certain there were some names he wouldn't even be able to think of, traitors waiting in the dark for an opportunity to try and bring him to his knees.

This was what love was-this squeezing in his chest, trying to suffocate him at the thought she might already be gone and there was nothing he could do to save her. That all he would be able to do was avenge her death, to torture whoever dared touch a single hair on her head and make them cry for the mercy they didn't extend to her. Klaus blinked at his own thoughts, shaking his head to try and clear it. He needed to focus on facts, not conjecture.

Elijah had started to put the pieces together. His brother had been talking to Sheriff Forbes. The mother of the cheerleader that Rebekah was adamant Klaus cared about, and from the frenzy that Klaus was displaying he couldn't help but think his sister may have been onto something. He was also convinced something was wrong with the other girl. "What do you need?" Elijah asked, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Simply hold down the fort here." Klaus shrugged off the contact, programming the location of Caroline's last whereabouts into his phone before he flashed out of the house, out of New Orleans and towards Georgia. Once he got to the longitudinal location that Sheriff Forbes had given him he hoped he would be able to pick up on her scent and be able to locate her that way. If not he would figure out another way to find her. Giving up was simply not an option.

 


	8. Chapter 8

_Would you leave me,_  
_If I told you what I've done?_  
_And would you need me,  
_ _If I told you what I've become?_

* * *

Ever since they had left Atlanta, Caroline felt as though time had been alternating between speeding by her in a whirlwind and moving at a snail's pace. The inconsistencies were driving her insane, causing her frustration level to sky rocket which seemed to only make practicing her new found abilities that much harder to do. Getting the shadow to come from her hands was easier than having the light come forth, except when she let her anger run away with her. Then the exact opposite tended to happen and she had a feeling that picking who died when she was that out of control was probably not the best idea. She felt as though she was supposed to try and decide people's fates with a level head, or at least as level a head as someone could have when others' lives were in their hands.

They had decided before leaving the city that it was best to find somewhere remote for Caroline to practice, neither Caleb nor Caroline wanting her to accidentally hurt an innocent bystander. Patrick simply seemed to go along with whatever they said, though she had noticed him watching them closely. She wasn't sure if he was simply studying them for his own protection (she had nearly killed him) or to gather information for someone else-like Klaus-which admittedly worried her. Because, sure, she may have temporarily saved Patrick's life for having failed Klaus, but she wouldn't be surprised if he sold her and Caleb out to the Original if he got the chance.

She couldn't help but be worried about how Klaus would react to her family legacy. This newfound power and position that she hadn't wanted...and could possibly kill him. She was already a weakness to him. What would he do if he thought she was a threat as well? She had a feeling she would be marked for death. Or worse he would come to hate her, to despise her...and funny how that seemed to twist her insides more than the thought of him killing her. So much for last loves and worldwide adventure promises. Not that she held much stock in either of them ever happening, no siree. Or at least she tried really hard not to do so.

The trio had traded in comfortable beds and real showers for a new set of tents and camping supplies so they could stay in the various campgrounds that seemed to litter the American countryside. Or at least it seemed that away to Caroline. She swore that a different campground seemed to crop up every few miles, but Caleb had assured her she was as just being silly. She'd tried her hardest to get them to go along with her fantastic idea of buying an actual RV but the fact they would only be using the tents for a few days as they made their way to New Orleans had made it hard to justify spending so much money so they could have mattresses and air conditioning. Something Caroline regretted in the humid Georgia mornings.

At least the campground they had decided to make as their current base was near one of the camp's bathrooms. That meant showers and not needing to dig Caleb a latrine. Though that had been rather hilarious at the first place they had stopped and if they had bothered to walk a little further from the campground they would have stumbled upon the bathroom, but they hadn't realized that until the morning. Neither Caroline nor Caleb had been much for either branch of the Scout programs and so camping was a bit out of either of their comfort zones or knowledge bases. Thankfully Patrick had stepped in and helped the boy out. From that night on they'd made sure to locate where the bathrooms were at before they set up camp.

They had been at the current site for two days. It was remote, had the necessities they wanted, and didn't seem to be attracting any of the usual summer campers that the first one had. Caroline didn't doubt that the circumstances would change soon enough for them to need to move on, but it wasn't as though they would be able to stay for too long anyway. There was only so long she would be able to avoid New Orleans and while practice was needed, the chaos in the city was only going to get worse the longer she waited.

"Okay, I'm going to go take a shower. Try not to kill all the vegetation while I'm gone," Caleb suggested, and Caroline threw one of the plants she had been concentrating on at his head. He laughed, bobbing out of the way before heading off in the direction of the bathrooms, leaving her to look back at the patch of clovers she was concentrating on.

She glanced over to see Patrick leaning against one of the trees as he kept a watchful eye over the area. By then, she knew better than to try and engage him in any worthwhile conversation. It only ended up with her more frustrated than when she'd started and him looking at her with a mixture of fear and awe. Caroline still wasn't sure if she liked that look or not.

Ignoring the other vampire, Caroline set about concentrating on the small flowers, trying to draw out either the shadow or the light as she looked at each one, deciding which would grow higher or shrivel up and die. Thankfully, she wasn't freaking out like she had the first time her abilities had actually worked. It was just a few flowers and she'd spark a few extra to grow before they left for all the ones she managed to kill.

Picking up her phone, Caroline noted that there were still no messages. Not from Tyler who she hadn't really expected to get anything from, but had still hoped would try and reach out to her. Not from Klaus. She stared hard at it, feeling like she had forgotten to do something, but was coming up empty for what it could possibly be. Shrugging she put it back into her pocket and leaned back in the grass, waving to Caleb as she spotted him meandering back toward their clearing.

The hairs on the back of her neck tingled a split second before the witch was knocked forward from behind, a large dark wolf knocking him over and pinning him to the ground. "Caleb," she managed to shriek, watching the wolf growl and snap at the boy who was too shocked to try any spell to knock the creature off. It wouldn't take long for the animal to rip his throat open, to end her new friend's life and while flashing over to try and knock the wolf off him was probably not her smartest move, Caroline still tried.

She didn't even make it a foot before Patrick grabbed her, trying to flash her the hell away from the scene. Her protection was his number one goal, and full moon or not, he wasn't about to chance her being bit by a wolf. She thrashed in his grip, refusing to leave Caleb behind and somehow managed to break free, knocking the older vampire to the ground as she rushed back to try and help the fallen boy.

Patrick latched onto her foot, causing her to tumble forward and she tried to brace herself for the impact but it still smarted when she hit the dirt. She kicked at Patrick, attempting to break his grip as he tugged her backward, intent on not letting her go this time. She altered her focus and grabbed a rock as she was dragged back, chucking it hard at the wolf. It smacked the creature right on the nose and caused it to look up from his intended target and….did the wolf seriously just glare at her?

Okay, no. That was just her mind playing tricks on her, but at least Caleb was still alive. Patrick was trying to drag her up then and she knew he'd pin her so she couldn't' escape him if she didn't manage to break free again, but before either of them could make a move the wolf backed off of Caleb. The boy lay still for a moment before he scrambled forward, crawling on his knees to where the two vampires were still in their struggle for control. All three froze their movements as an all too familiar sight to Caroline began to happen as the wolf started to transform.

She knew it wasn't Tyler, she knew his wolf too well, and as the beast became man Caroline had a good idea who it was going to turn out to be. Her mind couldn't seem to make up if it wanted her idea to be right or wrong though. Patrick let go of her, seeming to also have an idea of who had found them, and Caroline helped Caleb up to his feet before stepping out in front of him.

A few seconds later, Klaus stood before them and he did not look happy.

Not that she was even looking at his face, her gaze traveling downwards. "Hello, sweetheart," Klaus greeted, and she didn't need to see his face to know he was smirking, but oh god, she'd so been caught looking and she immediately turned around, throwing her hands up in the air as she stomped off toward the tents.

" _Seriously?!"_  she growled, ignoring the lot of them as she disappeared inside of one tent.

"You must be the witch," Klaus stated, looking the boy up and down as he tried to ascertain his threat level. Not too high if he hadn't been able to knock him off in wolf form. His gaze turned toward the other vampire, eyes narrowing in barely concealed rage. At least his once loyal follower knew to shake silently with fear. "And so good to see you're at least trying to follow orders, mate. So what have you been up to?"

Caroline came back out, holding a shirt and pants. "Don't talk to my appointed stalker," she snapped, clearly unamused with the situation and deliberately didn't look at where Klaus stood, no matter the temptation. She turned her attention instead toward the others. "Why don't you two go and pick us up some food?"

Caleb looked between her and Klaus, mouthing a 'you sure?' which she just nodded to before he went to get the car keys. Patrick also looked between them, unsure whose directions he was supposed to follow. Caroline tapped her foot impatiently, crossing her arms in annoyance. "He can leave, can't he, Klaus?" She did look at him then, forcing her attention to remain on the Hybrid's face.  _Ugh._  And of course he was looking all too smug with the outcome.

"Go on, Patrick. I'm sure we'll be able to catch up later." Oh how she wanted to knock the smug amusement out of the Original's tone. And while Klaus smirked as he looked over at Patrick, giving him permission to leave, Caroline could still see that barely contained rage in his eyes.

At least Patrick would be gone though, unable to expose anything for the moment and give her a chance to figure out why Klaus was there and what she was going to do now. Caroline watched Caleb and Patrick get into her car before she turned back to Klaus and threw the clothes she'd picked out at him. "Put the goddamn clothes on. I'm not coming back out until you're dressed." And with that she stomped back into the tent, zipping it up to show she meant business.

* * *

The night wasn't going anything like Rebekah had expected. Not that she had thought much would happen, nor had she even fathomed that Marcel would actually fall for her little ruse. She had never been one for bygones to be bygones. _None_  of their family had ever been and surely he of all people understood that much. And yet he had allowed her to playfully tug him out of the bar and away from the pretty little bartender that he obviously had eyes for at the moment. Though, maybe that was why he had done so. If they were both out of the bar then she wasn't near the woman he had some sort of infatuation with. As if she couldn't deal with the girl once she was done dealing with him.

She had allowed him to lead her around the French Quarter, feigning interest as he showed her just what he had done with the town her family had once ruled. But dawn was only a few hours away and she was tired of the game, tired of always being a pawn in relentlessly thought out plans she never got any say over. Not really. That was the problem with loving Nik. No matter how much she came to hate him, to despise what he did to her, she could never truly leave him. Not for long because the love she felt would always end up drawing her back to him. Just as it had done now when she wanted nothing to do with the city that had only ever given her heartache.

Case in point the bastard standing in front of her. "Done playing your part, Bekah?" Marcel drawled, leaning against one of the pillars and Rebekah noted he smirked just like her brother. But there was something missing from it. Not quite matching the look her brother had mastered through the centuries.

"You don't have the right to call me that any longer, you insolent little pup," she snapped, but didn't bother glaring at him. "Besides, I've done what I wanted. Learned what I needed. I don't care for your schemes or your plans." Not any longer. Fool her once and all of that.

Marcel arched a brow, pushing up off the pillar and he had the audacity to circle around her, hand reaching out to touch her hair, no doubt trying to stir up memories that she had long since torn out of her heart. "But you'll keep on caring about those schemes and plans of Klaus'. Never could give him up, could you?" he asked, and Rebekah rolled her eyes at his obvious ploy. Had it been a day ago maybe he would have gotten her to flounce, to say something she shouldn't, but she had reached the point where she simply didn't care.

"That's your problem, isn't it? You never did learn what family really meant. Not even when you were given a chance at it," Rebekah pointed out, narrowing her eyes at him, and then decided she was more than done with their conversation. She flashed at him, knocking him back against the pole he had been resting against a few minutes before. One arm was crushed against his windpipe again, her other hand pressed against his chest, nails tearing into the fabric and flesh. "Do you know how simple it would be to end you right now? After everything I think you deserve it."

He had the audacity to laugh and Rebekah tightened her grip, hand coming to grip his actual heart. Pain shot through her like she had never experienced and she released her hold, pressing her hands to her head as she turned around, trying to find the source. A young girl stepped forward, bare feet barely touching the pavement as she walked, glaring at Rebekah as she moved around her and headed straight to Marcel. "Are you alright?" the girl asked, looking him up and down and Rebekah followed the movement, trying to understand what the hell was happening.

Marcel smoothed a hand over his healed chest before leaning forward so he was on eye level with Rebekah. "I think you've accomplished what you set out to do, hmm,  _sweetheart_?" he asked, and pain or not she wanted to claw his eyes out. The other girl seemed to sense it, and Rebekah shut her eyes as the pain only increased, causing her to actually fall to her own knees. "This isn't your town anymore. It hasn't been for a very long time and never will be again. It's  _mine._  It will  _always_  be mine, and you and your brothers would do well to remember that." He reached out again, smoothing Rebekah's hair off her face and she wanted nothing more than to bite his offending fingers right off. "You really should get out while you can. New Orleans never did look good on you."

He reached for the other girl, taking hold of her arm. "Come along, Davina. You know you shouldn't be out at night."

"I was bored," Davina pouted, but followed him away from the scene, the pain not letting up on Rebekah until they were both gone. She sat in the middle of the somehow empty street, trying to determine what had happened and which direction the two had gone in, but it was no use. She couldn't pick up on anything.

"You won't find them," a voice called out, and Rebekah flashed around, fangs showing and not caring if the intruder saw. The figure stepped out of the shadow, not even flinching a little. "I'm Sophie."

Sophie...where had she… "The witch friend of Elijah's," Rebekah murmured, face smoothing back to normal as she retracted her fangs. "And why won't I be able to find them?" Because someone needed to start giving her answers before she did have a damn tantrum. She'd earned one.

"Because Davina doesn't want you to," Sophie replied, shrugging and stepping back into the shadows as a group of drunken tourists stumbled by. "And if she doesn't want something to happen then it won't." The witch looked up at the night sky, looking lost in thought for a moment. "For now at least."

Rebekah stepped forward, grabbing the witch's arm. She knew nothing would happen; the witches couldn't practice, and smiled sweetly at the girl. "You and I are going to go have a drink and you are going to fill me in on bloody well everything that has been happening in this town since I left it." The smile may have been sweet, but her grip and deadly tone were more than enough to show she wouldn't let the other woman leave without getting some answers.

Sophie studied her for a moment, before nodding. "Come on."

Rebekah wasn't stupid; she knew the answers that this woman would give were most likely going to be either full of riddles or full of holes. Possibly both. It was how every conversation with a witch occurred, but by god, she wanted anything besides Klaus' whining about needing his kingdom back and Elijah's hope for Klaus' redemption. Or apparently Marcel's love of power. She'd known the other vampire wasn't capable of actually loving anything else. Hadn't she learned that one the hard way? So whatever she would learn this time, she could put it with the other information she knew, and hopefully come up with a reason to fight alongside her brothers for a piece of land she didn't particularly care for any longer. Because she desperately needed a reason not to regret having left Matt behind and coming back to be take on the role of the doting sister she was to be cast as forever and ever.

Sometimes the phrase  _always and forever_  seemed like a death sentence to Rebekah and she hated when it felt that way. Her family was everything to her and she refused to lose them, even if she was still pissed off at one of them and not entirely endeared to the other. She needed a reason to go back to believing in it and finding some sort of happiness when she'd need to promise the words again or she was afraid she wouldn't be able to that time and then how utterly lost and alone would she be?

* * *

"I'm wearing the clothes, sweetheart, so unless you're looking to reenact a scene from the three little pigs and have me blow your house down, I suggest you come out so we can talk," Klaus called, smoothing out the white t-shirt that was a bit snug, but worked nonetheless. He eyed the tent Caroline had hidden herself in, sensing she was still inside and hadn't somehow snuck out a secret back way when he'd been busy pulling on the garments she had insisted he wear. He watched her step out, looking her over as she did so. She didn't appear injured or harmed in any way, and from the way she had commanded the other two and gotten them to leave without a fuss, he could rule out some sort of mind control. For the moment at least.

"Please, if you're any wolf from a fairy tale it's the one from Little Red Riding Hood. Just waiting for your next tasty meal," she mumbled, and seemed to hesitate as she looked over at him, but sighed in relief at his wearing the clothes. He arched a brow at that, fully ready with an inappropriate quip on his lips when she held up her hand. "Just no comments! I'm dropping the fairy tale line of talk right now." He watched as her inner walls were built back up, arms crossing as she studied him. "Okay what the hell are you doing here anyway? And in wolf form? Like seriously? You could have killed Caleb. Or Patrick. Or me."

"I would never kill you," Klaus interrupted, watching her lips press together at that comment. He stepped forward, moving until he was a few feet from her. She hadn't moved away so he was taking it as a sign he could continue his approach. "I did want to kill the little witch and Patrick's time on this earth is coming to an end, but I'm fairly certain yours is only just beginning. As for why I am here, well, sweetheart, it seems someone has been forgetting to call her mother and she-"

" _Oh my god_ ," Caroline looked frantic and scrambled in her pocket for her phone, turning away from him. "I cannot believe I... _she_  is going to kill me. Forget you accidentally doing it in your wolf form. She is going to march down here and murder me for causing her to worry and reach out to  _you_  of all people." She looked down at her phone and growled at the fact the 'No Service' bar was showing. Had it been showing the whole time? Was that why she hadn't gotten any messages?

Klaus watched her movements, wondering what she could have been so caught up in doing that she would forget to have called the Sheriff. He couldn't determine anything from the campground. While he was pleased to see that there were three tents in the clearing, everything about it seemed perfectly normal aside from the fact it was housing a witch and two vampires. "Why am I not getting…?" She turned back around to look at him. "Does your phone...you don't have yours because wolf. Nakedness."

Was that a blush? He was fairly certain it had been. "Astute as always, love," he remarked, enjoying the flash of annoyance directed his way. While he certainly enjoyed her smile, especially when it was directed at him in any fashion, he truly did appreciate the flashes of fire that she possessed. "So you're not in any danger then?" A fact that was beginning to rather annoy him. He'd dropped everything, no doubt leaving behind quite a few messes in order to find this girl, believed the  _worst_  had already happened or been happening to her. But no, she'd simply been camping in the woods. Not a care in the world.

Love was a weakness and he was becoming a fool.

"No," Caroline brushed hair out of her face, her turn for studying him carefully. "But you thought I was, didn't you?" His gaze flashed to hers, not bothering to answer that as his expression turned steely. He was ready to make his departure and try and put the entire business behind him.

But then she smiled.

It was one he had never seen before, at least not directed to him, that specific one he had yearned to earn for months now. And here she was giving it to him and his resolve to head back to New Orleans and drain some poor tourists dry in his anger was quickly washed away. "So have you ever had S'mores?" she asked, looking at him curiously and he arched a brow at the question. "Because if we're going to talk right now I am so going to need something to satisfy my sweet tooth."

"Say the word and I will be more than happy to satisfy any cravings that you might be having," he told her with a wink, grinning at the way she huffed at him, brushing past him to head to the car.

"You just go fetch some sticks for S'more making." She turned back toward him, pointing out at the woods to indicate where he might find some, before turning her attention back the car.

He couldn't seem to lose the self-satisfied grin and set about to do as she commanded. It couldn't hurt to spend a few more hours and make sure she truly was okay and see what other information he could get out of her and her companions. Glancing back at her, he watched as Caroline fiddled with her hair and then shook her head and unlocked the car's trunk.

"Get a grip, Caroline," he heard her mutter to herself. "It does not matter how your hair looks right now. It's  _Klaus._  Just Klaus."

Oh yes. This could be quite enjoyable indeed.

* * *

Nothing was going how it was supposed to. Not that Hayley had been convinced it would in the first place. She had followed the directions she was given to the letter, done all she was supposed to do, and somehow she had ended up trapped in the city and not an inch closer to finding anyone who was left of her family. And if that didn't make matters worse, Klaus seemed to actually have an idea of who they were and possibly where they were and she knew that he would never tell her the truth. He had been playing her all along and she should have known it. After all she had orchestrated him killing all of his hybrids. Or well, helped with the staging part of that. It hadn't been her idea after all, but she had been partly to blame and at first she had thought him allowing her to live had been some kind of small mercy.

Now, though, she understood it better. Letting her live prolonged her suffering. The hybrids who had died in the woods had been the lucky ones. Their fear had been short lived, their deaths swift. It was those that remained who would continue to live on in fear, never knowing when he would finally snap and destroy him.

It was enough to drive a girl insane.

Drinking would have been a great way to combat the crazy, but she was unable to do that. Not with the beast growing inside of her. She wanted to rip it out, to destroy the creature that shouldn't exist, but she didn't dare do so. Not with the witches watching her, with the Mikaelson family doing so as well. Hayley doubted she would make it out of the city alive if she even dared to try. The compelled staff that lived with her would surely inform the brothers if she did anything to harm herself or the baby.

Her phone beeped, informing her of a text and she looked down at it, surprised to see who had texted. She hadn't expected to receive word yet.

**K** **:** _Tell me you're being a good girl and not deviating from the plan._

**Hayley** **:** _I couldn't if I wanted to and you know it. What do you want?_

**K** **:** _Curious to know how it's going._

**Hayley** **:** _He doesn't care. You had to know he wouldn't._

**K** **:** _It's his siblings you need to get to care._

Right. Sure. She didn't have a clue how she was supposed to even try and pull off getting one of the siblings on her side. She wasn't exactly allowed out of the house she had been given. There was a little backyard and that's where she was allowed to go if she wanted fresh air. She glanced at the teddy bear on the couch, a present from Elijah on the day he had learned about the baby. Maybe he would be sympathetic enough...even if her current predicament hadn't been in any of the plans she'd been let in on. Not that she should've been surprised. Fool her once and all that.

**Hayley** **:** _I can't believe you didn't tell me about this before I came here._

**K** **:** _You know what you need to in order to do your part, wolf. I'll contact you later. Earn their trust._

Hayley growled. She erased the texts and threw the phone angrily down on the couch, not wanting any more orders.

"Is everything alright?" Hayley turned around, hand pressed to her chest as she looked at the Original, clearly startled to see Elijah standing in the living room with her. What had he seen? Thankfully it had been texts and not a phone conversation.

"You could've given me a heart attack," she snapped, glaring at him for a moment before remembering her place. Thankfully, he didn't attack her like Klaus surely would have.

"My apologies." He smiled, and unlike with Klaus it was genuine. She wondered what his feelings were on her fate. Was he on board with Klaus' plan? Once she had the baby was she as good as dead?  _If_ she had the baby. "I came to see how you were managing. If there was anything you might need. Within reason of course."

Which meant no outside time. Not farther than the backyard. Hayley didn't want to keep up the pretenses of civility around him, but she remembered the text. She needed to get at least one sibling on her side and at least Elijah did seem to have some sort of interest in the baby. "I'm going to need to see a doctor soon," she told him, touching her stomach to try and garner some sympathy.

"I've already scheduled you for an appointment next week," Elijah informed her, and she brightened a little at the thought of leaving even if it was only for a few hours. "The doctor will be coming here. I already put in the necessary request for the equipment he'll need. It should arrive in the next day or two."

And just like that all of her hopes were dashed. Clearly getting one of the Mikaelsons on board with her was going to take more time and effort than she had originally thought. "Thanks." She couldn't quite keep the sarcasm out her voice.

Thankfully he didn't rebuke her as Klaus would have. Elijah simply nodded before glancing around the room. "I know my methods must seem harsh, but the less chance of Marcel knowing about you the more likely you will remain alive." There was little doubt in his mind that the other vampire would kill her or try and use her as leverage if he could. Not that Klaus would care it seemed, but Elijah was still hell bent on trying to somehow see what was before him as something good for his family. Mikael's death hadn't helped. Nor had Klaus breaking his curse. What could it hurt to see if the child coming into their life would actually allow for some bridges to be mended? "I would much rather have you out of the city, out of the country even, but unfortunately you are tied to here."

And no amount of debating with the witches would have them undo that portion of the spell. They wanted to keep her as leverage. If not over Klaus, then at least over him.

"Being cooped up in here cannot be good for the baby," Hayley tried to reason, and he shook his head, not willing to debate the subject with her.

"Make a list of the things you would like made available for your entertainment," Elijah told her, picking up the teddy bear for a second before heading toward the door. "I'll check in on you again in a few days, Hayley."

She watched him go, picking up the bear he had put down to throw it at the space he had just left. She never should have agreed to this damn plan, should have known not to trust anything. When had putting her trust in others ever worked out in her favor?

* * *

Okay.  _This_  was bad. Like really,  _really_ bad. Caroline stared down into the opened trunk, trying to pull herself together. She  _needed_  to be in control. Didn't need any freak light or shadow seepage happening with Klaus being around. Klaus who had no doubt dropped everything that he had been doing-and from what little she knew of the turmoil in New Orleans she had a feeling his hands were pretty full there-and came to find her. Just like that apparently. Her mom had called, no doubt worried about her well-being, and the Original Hybrid had set off to find her. She'd thought maybe he would send some lackeys. Like he had with Patrick to watch over her and no doubt report back any activities she was up to that might get her into trouble. But no, he had come himself.

Somewhere along the way he had switched into his wolf form-a process that was supposed to be torturous, at least it had been to Tyler whenever he had been forced to do it-and sniffed out her trail in order to find her. Was it supposed to be kind of disturbing that he must have known her scent to be able to do that? Probably. But she was having a hard time putting that into the disturbing category. It was weirdly sweet in the way that Klaus dropping off some apologetic drawing after she'd called him out on his behavior at the ball had been sweet. Stalkerish as hell, and possessive, so damn possessive, but with that undertone of sweetness. And that was the part she couldn't afford to focus on.

She  _needed_  to focus on the possessive part because she was  _not_  and  _never_ would be some pretty little object for him to own, to deem  _his_  and put away on some shelf, in some glass coffin where he could keep her on display for centuries to come.  _Mixing up your fairytales there, Care,_  she chided herself, but couldn't help but wonder if he would do that if he could; lock her away in a forever slumber so he could keep her just as she was then. Make certain she was safe and out of harm's way. He did it to his siblings.

Why had she smiled at him? Why had she said anything about making S'mores and him hanging around and... _Ugh._  She really needed to kick her ass later on because now they were going to need to talk and she knew he wanted to know what the hell she was even up to. Somehow ' _hi, Klaus. Guess what? Apparently my family legacy is being the world's harbinger. Isn't that just great?"_  didn't seem like the best opener. There was little doubt in her mind that he knew what a harbinger could do and what one even was because he seemed to know everything else.  _Hello! Ancient Aramaic anyone?_

Caroline pulled out the bag of S'more supplies and slammed the trunk shut before going to where the campfire area was located. She looked down at the small bundle of logs Caleb had put there earlier and at the matches in her hand. This was why she always had someone else deal with the bonfire aspect of the bonfire parties.

"Need some help, love?" Klaus asked, standing right behind her, his voice tickling her shoulder as he peered down at the logs.

She whirled around, pressing the box against his chest. "You've probably lit like a million of these so feel free to do the honors." Oooh, she did not like how his hands slid up, fingers brushing over her own as he took the box from her hand. Nor did she like the little shiver it sent down her spine. So she glared at him and his oh so not innocent expression and took the sticks he'd found before she sat down on one of the larger logs surrounding the campfire and started staking marshmallows onto them. Mr. Handsy knew exactly what he was doing and she wasn't about to fall for it.

After all, she  _was_  still mad at him and there  _wasn't_  anything to fall for because...she didn't need a reason, damn it. "Did you kill him? Tyler?" Except she'd gotten that one text from him saying he was 'Sorry' and who knew how many she might have missed with the blasted 'No Service' area she'd been in.

"Do I really need to dignify that with an answer?" Klaus asked, his attention on the fire he started easily enough, before he moved back to sit on the log right next to her.

_Seriously?_  There were four other logs. He couldn't have picked one of them to park his ass on? Caroline decided not to answer his question, thrusting a marshmallow on a stick into his hands instead. "Just roast your marshmallow."

"Quite the motley crew you've sorted out for yourself here. A witch who has horrible reflexes. A vampire who will be dead within the week. And tents. Never really did picture you as a sleeping bag kind of girl." He pulled his marshmallow back away from the fire, holding it out for her inspection.

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do," Caroline chided, breaking off some chocolate. She hadn't meant it to sound as serious as it had come out. She'd been going for their usual ribbing routine, but well, apparently her mouth was enjoying spilling things it shouldn't. She held the chocolate and graham cracker duo out and mashed the marshmallow between them, pulling it off the stick before holding it out for him to take.

"I'm not going to eat that mess," he informed her, and she rolled her eyes at the way his own eyes seemed to twinkle in the damn firelight.

"Your loss." She bit into the gooey madness, traces of chocolate, sticky marshmallow and cracker remaining behind on her lips. She stared at him in shock when he wiped his finger across her lips, removing some of the crumbs before licking them off.

"Delicious," he murmured, and no- _no_ -he was much too close. Face hovering a hair's length away from her own, his damn gaze invading to her very soul. She needed to scoff now, needed to whip her hair around and mock his words, to build up the space she deliberately tried to always create between them. But no, the sparse light was shrouding them both in shadows and Caroline remembered what his lips had felt like against her cheek. Feather light and left her wanting  _more_  and god, how easy it would be to just lean in a little and take what  _she_  wanted for once. Show him what would really be delicious.

Except she heard the sound of the car pulling up and she pushed herself up and away from him, moment completely broken as she turned to watch Caleb park the car. Patrick and he clambered out, bags of fast food in their hands and Caroline ignored the worried look Caleb was directing at her. She was more interested in Patrick's distinctly frightened one.

It wasn't hard to figure out what was scaring the vampire once Klaus opened his mouth again, "Well, now that the gangs all here, I think it's time someone filled me in on what the bloody hell is going on."

Caleb nearly dropped the bag he was holding at that point and Patrick looked like he was ready to bolt. Caroline dropped down on the log back beside Klaus, hopeful that her proximity to him would help her to stop him from doing anything too stupid. "I'm not ready to tell you," she muttered, tugging at her hands in her lap for a moment before she ceased the nervous gesture. "And I'd think that's something  _you'd_ understand pretty well considering you're keeping your own share of secrets, Mr. New Orleans is a mixing pot of turmoil right now."

Okay, so maybe that hadn't been the best way to go about it considering he was eyeing her questioningly and then glaring daggers at Patrick. Oh if looks could kill… "Has someone been telling tales that are not his to tell?" he asked, rising from the log and looking ready to rip out the other vampire's heart. Caroline rose as well though, cutting in front of him.

"Klaus." The situation reminded her entirely too much of a time in the Mystic Grill when she had been acting as the 'little blonde distraction' once again. "Please don't."

Klaus looked down at her, placing his hands on her shoulders, and oh no, she knew that look, knew the gentle caress to her shoulders was a distraction technique. "I'm taking your plea under advisement, sweetheart," he told her and she knew what would happen right before it did. He was on Patrick before either she or Caleb could react, pulling out the vampire's heart and they all watched him drop to the ground.  _Dead_. "Afraid I can't acquiesce to it this time though. He was on borrowed time as it was."

"Caleb,  _don't,_ " Caroline warned, knowing the witch would no doubt try the pain inducing spell, and she flashed in front of her friend before Klaus could get to him. "He's  _off-limits._  I mean it. Don't you touch him." She practically shoved Caleb back into the car. "Go for a drive again."

"Like hell I am leaving you alone with him," Caleb protested, not liking the idea at all. Was she insane? He'd just ripped out one vampire's heart. What was to stop him from trying to rip out hers? Granted it wouldn't work, but still!

" _Go. I need one hour,_ " she demanded, and something about the way the witch's eyes widened for a brief moment told her she had used a little harbinger power when she said it. Her theory was confirmed once he started the car and slowly backed away from the campground. Caroline turned her attention back to Klaus, narrowing her eyes at the way he nonchalantly wiped his dirty hands on the fallen man's jacket, removing any traces of blood.

"Seriously? Is pulling out the hearts of everybody your go-to answer? Because it's  _ridiculous._ " And now there was a body that would need to be disposed of and like she had a shovel just laying around for that purpose. "He didn't do anything wrong."

"On the contrary, Caroline. He did quite a bit wrong. Failed me even," Klaus pointed out, glancing down at the dead vampire with a sour expression. "He was well aware what doing such a thing would cost him."

_Ugh._  "Well  _you_  get to deal with clean up," she grumbled, kicking angrily at the dirt. "So what now? You pick a new unwilling lackey to come and follow my every move and report back to you how I'm doing and what I'm doing? Which  _one_ , way creepy. And  _two,_  you do not own me. So stop acting like I'm some sort of prized possession you're afraid is going to get broken."

Klaus looked up at that, and her unneeded breath caught in her throat at the nearly raw expression on his face. It almost reminded her of his barely contained rage, but this was more like a wounded animal, in pain and trying not to show it. Fearful that someone might see it as a weakness and attack. "I think you greatly underestimate your importance, Caroline."

She should have rolled her eyes again, crossed her arms with disdain, anything to balk again at his words, but she couldn't seem to lash out when he seemed so exposed to her. "I don't know what you think is going on but Caleb happens to be a friend of mine and I wanted to road trip and he was up for the opportunity," she told him, trying to sell the lie with a smile.

"Nice try, sweetheart, but you were never that good a liar," Klaus pointed out, watching her closely.

"Please. I was like little Miss Distraction to you multiple times!" she huffed, not sure she actually wanted to go into that because it wasn't exactly a good thing.

Klaus arched a brow at that. "Something I was aware of nearly every time, Caroline. I simply didn't care because it allowed me an opportunity to spend some personal time with only you." Statements like that shouldn't have made her insides clench with so much  _need_  and she knew she couldn't let herself get swept away in them. Not now.

"I'm on a road trip with a friend," Caroline reiterated, crossing her arms in defiance. "Seeing the world. Like you always say I should."

"You know I'll figure it out." And he was standing much too close to her again, reminding her of their talk after graduation. Hand once again gripping her arm, and while not tight or biting, his grip was still firm. "There's very little I won't work to learn about when it comes to you."

A smile tugged at her lips, but she quickly vanquished it, giving into the sigh that wanted release instead. "I don't want to be followed. I don't like being followed. Or guarded or feeling like I'm constantly being watched."

His grip tightened, still not hurting her, but enough to cause her to look back at him. "And I do not want you dead," he told her, and something about the way he said it had her believing he truly did think it was a possibility. That he really was afraid someone would try to kill her  _because of him._  To get to him and that really did seem to worry him.  _Scared him_ even.

"Well we're at a stalemate because I'm just going to keep outing the bodyguards and you'll keep on killing them and then you'll run out of vampires to order around. And we really wouldn't want that." She hadn't actually meant to earn a smile from him for her comments, nor did she appreciate his damn fingers caressing the skin of her arm. Or the tingling it sent down her spine and right to her very core. From his damn smirk she had a feeling he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

"Maybe we'll skip the bodyguards and I'll simply join your entourage. Think we might need to upgrade your accommodations some, sweetheart." He was closer than before, his damn eyes locked on hers and doing that gaze that seemed to see into her very soul.

Caroline broke free from his grip, from the tantalizing spell he was so aptly trying to weave her into, and stepped back. "So sorry, but this group is invitation only and you don't meet the requirements to join." No, Caroline, she silently smacked herself. Now was not the time for playful banter with the Original. Not with a dead vampire at their feet. Not when she  _was_  still mad at him for the debacle that had been her last conversation with Tyler. "Not to mention that would require you to take time away from your scheming and we wouldn't want that."

Before he could answer, the sound of a phone ringing cut through the air, surprising both of them. She pulled out the phone from her pocket, surprised that the service was working and noted the Email, Text, Voicemail and Mixed call buttons at the top of the screen before arching a brow at the unknown number with a Virginia area code. "Hello?" she answered, watching as Klaus mirrored her reaction, no doubt wondering who was calling.

"Hello, Caroline. I take it that my worthless no account brother is there with you?" Whoever Caroline had been expecting it definitely hadn't been Rebekah and she looked at Klaus questioningly. He raised his hands, his curious expression proof enough to her that he didn't know why his sister was calling either.

"How did you get my number?" Because she certainly hadn't given it to the girl. "And why would he even be with me.  _Here_  with me. In the  _same vicinity_  as me."

"I asked Matt for it after Klaus continued to not answer his phone after the fifth try at reaching him." Rebekah replied, her voice sounding a mixture between tired and frustrated. Caroline was pretty sure the combination would only make her bitchier. "Denial really doesn't become you, Caroline. Now put him on the phone."

Caroline rolled her eyes and handed the phone to Klaus, watching him carefully. He seemed less than amused that he'd been called. "What do you need, Rebekah?" he demanded, and Caroline shook her head at his attitude before moving away to put out the fire and give him some space to talk to his sister.

Not that she couldn't help but eavesdrop  _just a little._  Not her fault really! Vampire hearing made it hard to completely tune out conversations when there wasn't anything else to focus on in the middle of the woods. She only picked up on bits and pieces of the conversation, trouble was happening in New Orleans and he was needed back. When Klaus hung up the phone, he seemed restless and was watching her with guarded eyes as though he was trying to decide his next move.

"Go," she told him, taking the phone he handed back to her as he came to stand in front of her. "I really am fine." Well, fine as she could be all things considered. "And apparently your new home isn't so go and deal with that."

"And where will you be headed?" he asked, though it sounded more like a demand and so she rolled her eyes.

"I kind of want to see the beach again." Not a lie. She really did want to go dig her toes into some sand, but Caroline knew that beach adventures weren't in her cards anytime soon. At least it earned her another smile, even if it shouldn't make her happy to be on the receiving end of them.

"Might I recommend Clearwater in Florida. I think you'll be quite taken with it and enjoy the differences between the beach there and the Carolina shores." He was doing that invade her personal space thing again, taking a lock of curls in between his fingers and running them down the length of her hair. "One day we'll have to visit the beaches of Seychelles islands. Indigo blue waters that roll onto white sand beaches you won't quite find anywhere else in the world."

She could almost picture it and forced the scoff to come, pulling away from him, forcing her not to be drawn into the dream she really did seem to want to grab hold of and let run away in her mind. He'd seen something though in her expression that had him looking at her as though she'd just given him the keys to her kingdom and all she could do was stare back at him, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

"Thank you for coming. Even though I wasn't in any kind of trouble…" But that wasn't the point and they both knew it. He had dropped everything to come and make sure she was okay, to find her when he thought she hadn't been.

"Do try and stay out of 'No service' areas this time, sweetheart," Klaus told her, and she half expected a cocky grin to accompany his statement, but instead she was met an actual smile, before he was gone from the clearing.

Caroline stood rooted in the spot he had left her at for a few moments, trying to clear her head or catch her breath or maybe it was all of them at once. She forced herself to start moving, pushing back what had happened to the back of her mind as she started to tear down the campsite. She and Caleb needed to leave and they needed to leave now, before Klaus could send anyone else to watch her back. No doubt he would have someone tracking her again as soon as he was back in New Orleans, or maybe he would stop somewhere along the way and compel someone into his services. All she knew was that when Caleb arrived back at the campsite, the two of them needed to dispose of Patrick's body and then head directly to New Orleans.

Ready or not, it was time to go.

What she didn't expect was for Patrick to suddenly sit up, noisily sucking in an unneeded breath and scaring the hell out of her as she turned toward him. His heart was still on the ground beside him, but the gaping hole that had been in his chest was completely healed and he was staring at her with wide eyes, confused.

"Guess the whole shadow passing into someone thing really does work…" Caroline murmured, walking over to help the other vampire to his feet, startled for a second when he clasped her hand tightly in his own. She'd done it to him earlier in the day in passing, just to see what might happen, but there hadn't been any reaction on using it. Not like when she had done the light and he'd immediately started to desiccate.

"Thank you," the vampire whispered, no longer looking her with a hint of fear but with adoration and thankfulness. She offered him a small smile before nodding toward the tents.

"Let's get this show on the road. We're out of here as soon as Caleb gets back." Which shouldn't be that long if he stuck to her one hour demand and Caroline had a feeling the witch would be doing just that.


	9. Chapter 9

_Cut me down_  
_But it's you who'll have further to fall_  
_Ghost town and haunted love_  
_Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones  
_ _I'm talking loud not saying much_

* * *

"What are you even wearing, Nik?" Rebekah scrunched her nose in distaste at the white shirt and sweatpants ensemble her brother had entered in, before holding up a hand to stop him from answering. "You know on second thought I really do not want to know anything about what may have occurred between you and that cheerleader." The less she knew about her brother's relationships the better. Not that he had ever even had any real relationships before, but Rebekah really didn't want to contemplate what he must have been doing with Caroline for him to return home in such a tragic ensemble.

"I take it your charms didn't quite do the trick on our  _old friend_ ," Klaus mocked, and she detested the smirk he wore, that damn twinkle in his eyes that told her he was having a go at her. She hated when he was like this, disregarding her feelings and trying to prove to her again that she had a lousy choice in men. Did he think she didn't  _know_  that her relationships usually ended in flames-sometimes  _literally_?

"I didn't need them," she replied, trying not to rise to his obvious bait. It was hard, every ounce of her being wanting to lash back at him, to hurt him as he so carelessly did her, but she didn't want to fight just then. Not with what had happened. What she had seen and learned was more important than the current row they were engaged in. "It seems he has someone working for him, a girl. I don't think she's older than sixteen, maybe seventeen, possibly even as young as fourteen." Age was harder to determine sometimes after all the years she'd lived in a box. Even though she had been out for nearly a year there was still so much she was getting used to. "Powerful little thing though. Able to nearly vanish into thin air with Marcel, leaving no trace behind of where they went. And you know the nasty little trick most witches use to cause the little aneurisms bursting in our heads? She can do the same, but multiply it by thirty and you might realize how much it hurt."

Klaus arched a brow at that information, taunting done with for the moment. He sat down on the couch across from Rebekah, listening carefully as he tried to put the pieces together. "So Marcel has a witch on his side?"

"I don't know what she is," Rebekah shook her head, frowning as she remembered her conversation that had followed with the witches. "They're afraid of her though, the witches. Afraid and something else. I think they need her." She frowned, looking off into the distance as she contemplated what had been said at the meeting. "But I don't know why. And they didn't call her a witch. They simply referred to her by name. Davina. Which is something they didn't do about anyone else. You're the Hybrid or Klaus. Marcel is his own name or the Vampire King." It shouldn't have amused her how her brother snarled at that comment. So typical.

"So you're having your own little conversations with the witches now?" Klaus demanded, and she didn't appreciate the tone. Rebekah could almost see the wheels turning in his head, leaving little ripples about betrayal throughout.

"Sophie found me after my run in with Davina and wanted to talk. I figured you would want to know what it was they wanted to say to me," Rebekah informed him, not willing to play along with his paranoid behavior. Frankly she was tired of it. One thousand years and she had been the only one to stay with him through everything. The one who forgave him time and time again for each dagger, each killed boyfriend, and each life ruined. Shouldn't that have earned her some trust on his behalf? "He said something, when he had the girl bringing me to my knees. This is his town and he wants us out. I don't think he believes you're playing nice at all."

"I'll enjoy taking everything away from him and watching him die as a nobody," Klaus mused, and Rebekah glanced over at her brother, rolling her eyes at his sickening grin. She could only imagine the thoughts happening in his mind. None of them would be pleasant. At least not for Marcel.

"Anyway, you do know he's quite infatuated with that bartender, don't you? Cassie? Carol?" She hadn't bothered to learn the woman's name, but it seemed as though it might be a good idea to do so.

"Camille. And yes, I'm quite aware of Marcel's little weakness." Klaus narrowed his eyes, pointing a finger at her. "Stay away from her, Rebekah. I already have plans for that one."

She huffed at that, annoyed she wouldn't be allowed to use the woman in her own schemes to make Marcel pay for what had happened between them all those years back. "And what of me? What is it you need me to do?" she asked, pretending to study her nails.

"Don't worry, dear sister, I'm sure you'll prove yourself useful," Klaus murmured, and she turned to glare at him, but her look softened a bit when she noticed the look he directed at her didn't have as much bite as it should have if he was being mean. "Now, I'm in need of a meal and a hot bath, preferably in that order. So don't wait up." He headed toward the doorway, pausing when he was in front of her. "Why don't you go and get some rest?" He bent down, kissing the crown of her head.

Rebekah smiled at the gesture. The two of them hadn't patched things up yet and it would take quite some time for them to ever get back to what they had been, but perhaps they were going in the right direction. Or perhaps seeing Caroline had distracted Klaus enough from his own nonsense to act a little more reasonable. Wouldn't that be curious if it was true? Maybe she should start looking a little more closely at his burgeoning relationship with the cheerleader.

"Wouldn't want you to waste away to nothing when you're still quite useful," Klaus continued, and she chucked the pillow beside her at his head as he headed out of the house.

Or maybe she had been wrong and he was still the same old fool of a brother. Only time would tell.

* * *

"Just once could she have owned like something small? Without all this ornate opulence?" Caroline breathed out as she pulled the car onto the side of the Garden District mansion. "Like really, what's wrong with a loft? Or a...I dunno. Small?" It wasn't as though her great grandmother would have been filling all of the extra rooms with people. Caroline wondered how sad that must have been, to live in such a gigantic place and never hear anything but the sound of your own voice, your own footsteps. Even when her mother and she had been in the tumultuous stage of their relationship, with rarely ever seeing one another, there had always been life to the house. Caroline never sensed life when she entered the new buildings her great grandmother had owned.

"It's yours now," Caleb reminded, tapping his fingers against the dashboard. Caroline had long since learned it was one of his nervous tells and she couldn't blame him. They were in the lion's den now and they both knew there would be no turning back.

She rolled her eyes at him before glancing in the rearview mirror to check in on Patrick. He caught her gaze in the mirror, doing that annoying little bow of the head thing he'd picked up ever since coming back undead...again. Caroline understood that he was grateful, but the way he would immediately do anything she asked of him or take her side right away after she made suggestions was disconcerting. It reminded her too much of the Sire bond and she really hoped that wasn't what had happened. "Patrick, can you go take a look around outside?" she suggested, watching as he eagerly unbuckled his seatbelt and vanished from the car to set about accomplishing the task.

"Okay, I'm not the only one finding that to be a little creepy, right?" Caleb murmured, looking over at her and Caroline pressed her forehead to the steering wheel.

"No," she groaned, but it wasn't something to focus on at the moment. She'd figure it out and snap Patrick out of his all too helpful trance.

"I bet this place has an Indian feel to it," Caleb wagered, trying to break the dower mood that had come over her. "Maybe Persian."

"Nope. French all the way. Though I bet there's a lot of stuff that's from around here. Cajun and Creole or whichever it is…" Caroline didn't quite know the distinction between the two. She had a feeling her great grandmother had though. "Mr. Tremble did say she used to live here back in the 1900s." Which if Caroline remembered correctly had been when the Originals were also in New Orleans. It would have been just too much to hope that their paths had never crossed.

"You're on. I wonder if this place has cable," Caleb murmured as he got out of the car and headed toward the house.

Caroline took a deep breath, watching him walk away, glancing over to see Patrick take up a position where he could see whoever might approach the house from the front. She exited the car and stopped after walking a few feet. A feeling of unease washed over her, soaking her to the bone with coldness. She didn't spin around, no matter how much she wanted to. Instead she faked dropping her keys so she could turn and survey a little more discreetly. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just some people walking by, not even bothering to look her way as they animatedly chatted about where they were going for lunch.

She rolled her eyes at herself as she rose, chalking up the sensation to the paranoia that was already trying to consume her and headed toward Caleb to find out which of them would win the wager on how the current house would be decorated.

Twenty minutes later and it turned out neither of them were right, the house being decorated with items and paintings from what they had discovered was Russia after some googling on their parts. The sinking feeling in Caroline's stomach also hadn't gone away. If anything it had intensified, but she ignored it for the moment, leaving Caleb to call his mother and instructing Patrick to go compel them some blood bags from somewhere local.

Caroline headed to the master bedroom, following the instructions Mr. Tremble had given her. He'd said it was imperative that she retrieve something from there, a necklace that had belonged to Valencia, had belonged to all of the harbingers for their length of servitude and that it was something she would need to have as well. Caroline had wondered why the hell her great grandmother hadn't simply given it to her when she'd been informed she was something different.

"Because Valencia hadn't stepped foot in New Orleans since 1919. I don't know precisely what happened back then, but she always said it was her greatest failing," Mr. Tremble had told her before they had left Atlanta. "She hadn't been wearing the necklace when she left and I never understood why she didn't return for it considering she had always worn it before then, but she steadfastly refused to ever to set foot in that city again. And not just because she didn't have the powers as she used to, not just because of your birth. There was something else, but she never told me what. It was only a few months ago that she informed me of where it was and told me to pass the message along to you."

Lifting the floorboard in the closet, Caroline rooted around before she touched cloth and drew out the satchel that had been stuffed in the corner. She opened the bag, letting what was inside clatter to her lap. It was a pendant with one larger circle that had three interconnecting ones in the middle of it, but when she studied it closer, Caroline decided instead of circles they were actually three crescent shapes interlocking in a way that made them appear like complete circles, surrounded by tiny blue jewels on the circumference of the larger circle. Caroline felt like she had seen it before somewhere, but couldn't for the life of her remember where.

"It's a Valknutr. Norse for the slain warriors knot or something like that," Caleb said, and she glanced up to see him standing in the doorway. "But I'm sure you see it's not actually triangles-which if it was a true Valknutr-is what you would see. Instead its crescent moons because while the Valknutr speaks for Odin, the lunar ones speak for Freyja."

Caroline scrunched her nose in annoyance. Apparently this was something she should be familiar with, but she was at a loss. "Yeah, I'm not really clear on who any of those people are except Odin. Thor's dad, sort of Loki's but not really, and I only know that because Tyler made me watch Avengers once. But I'm guessing we're not talking about that Odin."

"Well, we sort of are. Norse mythology, which is what Marvel took Thor and Loki and the rest from for their comics-and okay, the movies were pretty good, but if you really want to read some decent…" He trailed off at Caroline's arched brow. "Right. Not the time to recommend comics. Got it. So Norse mythology. Odin is like the major god of that one. But Freyja was one of the goddesses, actually taught Odin his magic. She's the goddess of love, fertility, battle and death."

Caroline nodded along, trying to figure out exactly what any of that had to do with her or why the symbol was so important, but thankfully Caleb kept explaining. "There are two theories on how harbingers came to pass. One is that she created them or you know blessed someone with the powers to do it and it just kind of carried on in the gene pool. The other is that she actually gave birth to the first."

"Right, because my great great great great great great great however many greats I need here grandmother is a Norse goddess." She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the implication.

"And vampires and werewolves are just creatures people made up to scare kids into behaving," Caleb pointed out, and she stuck her tongue out at him, not wanting to have this conversation. It was hard enough to comprehend it all without the added implication of gods and goddesses being thrown in the mix. "They're all theories anyway. Who knows what's the truth anymore. It happened forever and a day ago. But see what happens when you actually touch it because that's actually the important part."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, convinced he knew something would happen, but all he did was smile that annoying 'I dare you' grin of his. She brushed her fingers along the surface of it, sucking in a breath as her body immediately started to glow, the lights in the closet and bedroom turning on before each light bulb shattered. Caroline snatched her hand away. "It amplifies what you can do," Caleb said, holding out the bag. "You'll eventually have enough control where you can wear it always without causing any freak-outs, but probably not yet."

He picked the necklace up from where it had fallen to the floor and dropped it inside the bag before handing it over. "Might want to keep it handy though."

There was an unspoken 'never know when you might need it' that passed between them as she stuffed the bag into her pocket. "Guess we should see what else might be useful in this place while we wait for Patrick to return," Caroline pointed out, hoping they would find some clues about really anything at that point.

"I'll start with the attic," Caleb told her, shrugging at her curious look. "The most interesting things are always discarded in the attic."

* * *

Graveyards were sacred grounds in New Orleans and that meant Rebekah couldn't pass into one without an invite. It also seemed that an invite only extended for the day it was first given considering she had been in the very same graveyard not even a day before, but could no longer cross the threshold. It had always been that way in the city, even back when they had freely moved throughout; the letter M's that dotted the architecture here and there known for the Mikaelson clan. Not as it was now. Marcel had claimed them all as his own and it seemed there were none alive who knew the truth. Aside from the Original family, Rebekah had noticed that Marcel was the oldest vampire in the city. She also theorized that he was older than all the witches present as well. Which was peculiar considering if anywhere had the means to extend life it was in the city where voodoo and hoodoo and all manners of magic prevailed. Or used to prevail.

Aside from the magic that surrounded the cemeteries, it seemed magic truly had been nearly stripped away from the city that had once thrived on it. Sophie stepped out of the shadows of one of the nearer mausoleums, scanning the area around Rebekah before nodding. That seemed to be all that was needed for Rebekah to be able to cross. "You shouldn't be here," Sophie hissed, urging her to follow her further into the graveyard and away from prying ears.

Rebekah supposed it did make sense that magic would still flow uninterrupted in the graveyard. After all, the source of New Orleans witches' power was from their ancestors and the grounds were literally littered with them. "But she couldn't stay away, could you, child?" an older woman asked, stepping out from behind another mausoleum and Rebekah wondered exactly how many witches were nearby. "Claire Laveau." She extended a hand, and Rebekah raised a brow at the name.

"Related to Marie Laveau?" she asked, remembering the other woman almost fondly not surprised at all that the woman nodded confirmation. It was then that she saw the Gris Gris tucked into the woman's shirt. Rebekah wondered if the woman practiced the same magic as her ancestor did and how she compared to her in abilities and knowledge. "I take it she would be your great great great or possible great great great great grandmother?"

"Second one. And you knew her?" Claire asked, as they walked toward the mausoleum that seemed to be where meetings were held. Though from the way the woman asked, Rebekah had a feeling the woman already knew the answer.

"Quite well actually. I told her a few of the old spells I remembered from my childhood." Back before her family had been turned. Back when Rebekah had thought her mother truly did love them all, when she too had been connected to the Earth. Not to the degree her mother had been, but she had known magic for a good many years before it had been stripped away from her. All of her siblings had, but none quite like she'd been able to. Mostly because Mikael had forbidden her brothers to partake in any lessons from her mother or Ayana.

"You learned them from your mother?" Claire asked, and Rebekah watched as the old woman eased herself down onto one the marble stones, obviously pained from the short walk. She would have made such easy prey to the nightwalkers that roamed the streets at night. Did they even know the history that coursed through the woman's veins? Rebekah doubted it. Most didn't seem to be older than at most half a century, the majority seeming to be about a decade old or younger.

"Yes." Rebekah had no desire to continue that particular line of questioning. The less she thought about her mother the less chance there was of her decapitating someone out of frustration and anger. "I didn't come here to talk about her. I came to find out who convinced you that a baby would be something to bind my brother to you and your foolish plans. Surely you've realized by now that you have been grievously played and he doesn't care one iota for the child in that werewolf's belly."

But a part of her did. That part that had yearned to be human and had that whim so roughly stolen from her by Niklaus. Not enough to fight for it yet, still not convinced Elijah and Klaus hadn't been hearing things when the witches had provided "proof" of the girl's pregnancy.

"All the pieces of the puzzle are settling in and even we cannot fully see the big picture," Claire stated, eyes rolling to the back of her head, only the whites showing as she started to convulse. She would have hit her head on the stone if Rebekah hadn't moved, catching and lowering the woman to the ground as Sophie rushed to her the woman's side to help.

"She's having a seizure," Sophie started, and Rebekah snorted at the woman's audacity to even attempt a lie.

As if she hadn't seen such things happen before. "She's having a vision. Really, you little insignificant girl. You think I know nothing of witches and their powers when I was raised by two of the most powerful witches in history?" Rebekah scoffed, waiting to see what the older woman would say once the shaking had ceased. It probably wasn't supposed to amuse her so much that Sophie shook a little herself, trying to hold up that false bravado she seemed to always carry about her, but that was surely coming undone.

"She's here," Claire spoke, her voice an octave lower than it had been as she suddenly stopped shaking, her entire body going rigid. "The Harbinger has returned and no injustice shall go unnoticed in her wake. Death follows many while life flows through. Bonds that were once strong shall fall asunder and new ones shall rise and take bloom."

Claire's body shook one last time before it relaxed completely, the woman's eyes closing and breathing going shallow. Rebekah barely noticed it, her eyes having narrowed as soon as the woman had begun speaking. "What the hell is that bitch doing back in this town?" she growled, looking down at the passed out woman in disgust. "I look forward to Nik ripping her to shreds after how she so easily betrayed us." Even if it wouldn't kill the damn woman, it would hurt and after all the pain they had endured nearly one hundred years ago the woman deserved nothing less.

Sophie seemed frozen in her spot, and Rebekah turned a watchful eye on her, trying to assess what was going through the witch's mind. "How do you know about the Harbinger?" she demanded, grabbing Sophie by the throat and slamming her into the wall. "She can't be coming back here. Surely you know that much. Or did no one tell you she cursed herself from ever stepping foot in this repulsive city again because she backed out on her word. Something a harbinger can  _never_ do. Not without dire consequences." She squeezed harder, watching the life choke out of the woman, but thought better of it and let her slide to the ground, gasping for breath, and Rebekah slammed Sophie's head into the wall, effectively knocking her out.

Something told Rebekah that the situation was just getting interesting and she meant to stick around for a while to see what dear old Claire might be able to tell her once she woke up.

* * *

"Are you following me?" Klaus asked, keeping his voice light with an air of teasing as he sat down in the booth across from Camille. The woman looked up from the stack of books she was perusing through, clearly startled to see him there. "I just so happen to visit this little cafe every so often. They make a remarkable pomegranate tea. Have you had it?"

"Can't say I've ever really been fond of pomegranates." She smiled at him, half closing the book she had been reading, using her hand as a bookmark. "Too much work for such little offering."

"Ah, but then who doesn't enjoy a good challenge now and again?" he mused, eyebrows arching slightly as he leaned back against the booth. He noted that Marcel had just walked in, watched the other man freeze for a moment, no doubt startled to see him there, before putting back up his jovial facade as he headed toward the table. Klaus paid him no mind, acting as though he hadn't seen him. "Let me guess, you're more of an orange girl."

"Something like that." Camille continued to smile, though he watched the way it brightened considerably when Marcel stopped at the table. She cocked her head toward Klaus, raising a brow. "Are you sure it's not me who's being followed?"

Klaus laughed at the question.  _Oh you have no idea._  He'd noticed the nightwalkers that had been assigned to watch over her, no doubt told if anything happened to her they would meet most gruesome ends. Had the fool learned nothing from him? You did not flaunt your weaknesses so easily. Though perhaps Marcel had grown cocky, believing himself too powerful to be brought down by a mere girl he was so obviously infatuated with.

The barista chose that moment to bring over his cup of tea, greeting him by name, and Klaus thanked the girl before raising it up for Camille to see. "As I said. I enjoy the tea." He watched her nod in assent, before the two of them turned their attention to his old friend. "But what brings you round here, mate?"

"Was walking by and saw two of my favorite people in the same place." Marcel slid onto the booth beside Klaus, angling himself so he could focus on Camille. "Why miss such an excellent opportunity for some worthwhile conversation?"

"As opposed to the kind you usually receive from your...companions?" Klaus asked, his lips curving into a smile that he nearly covered by drinking the tea, but he knew they would both be able to see it. He had to give Marcel credit though; the boy didn't even rankle a little at the question. Though it seemed the little bartender was blushing.

"Think you've gotten me mistaken for you, old friend," Marcel replied, flashing his teeth in a broad smile. "You should have seen what he and I used to get up to back when Klaus and I first met."

"Oh, I doubt Cami wants to be bored listening about our innocent little romps," Klaus murmured, the smirk on his face clearly indicating they had been anything but innocent. He could see the war on Camille's face, that curiosity to know what they were referring to while also trying to remain polite. "After all, she did come here to study, didn't you, love?"

He nodded to the books scattered on her side of the table, the hand tucked into the one she had been reading. "It's fine. I could probably do with a study break." She glanced over at the clock hanging on the far wall. "I've been at it for about...two hours…"

"What is it you're studying?" Marcel asked, seemingly eager to know the answer and Klaus half listened to the conversation happening before him. He nodded at the appropriate times, gave noncommittal answers here and there, but it was Marcel's body language that he was most interested in. He needed to know for sure if the man was playing him on his feelings for the woman across the table. If he was then using her would be a waste, but if he wasn't then oh the fun was only just beginning.

Twenty minutes in and Klaus knew Marcel wasn't feigning interest. No, his earlier assessment had been correct as was Rebekah's. Marcel had real feelings for the girl. It was hard to pull off truly listening to what someone was saying when you didn't care about what they said. But Marcel sat enraptured at everything coming out of Camille's mouth, laughing at right and wrong intervals. Which Klaus had always thought was key. It was those who laughed only at the right ones who didn't truly care, that faked an interest. They went about trying to make everything look perfect, but no relationship was ever like that.

His mind was ablaze with new plans, plotting out exactly how to twist what he saw forming before him into something to help him defeat his old friend. None would work out well for the girl, but she was of little consequence to Klaus. Good conversation didn't outweigh defeating the friend who had betrayed him and taken what rightfully belonged to him.

All playful pretenses were dropped though when one of Marcel's inner circle members entered the cafe, clearly glancing around for his master before nodding to the exit once he caught Marcel's gaze. "Seems time has gotten away with me," Marcel told them, flashing a charming grin at Camille. "Not that I'm surprised by that considering the company."

"Careful now, old friend, or you'll make me blush," Klaus chided, not even bothering to hide his smirk. He quite enjoyed the small frown from Marcel when the girl laughed.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Marcel continued, only rising once Cami nodded her assent, and then slipped out onto the street. Klaus pretended to pay attention to what the woman was saying to him, but his focus was a few feet away, tuning into whatever the lackey had deemed urgent enough to warrant interrupting his master's plans.

"...old house has activity," the vampire-Oliver? Ollie? Something like that-continued, a little too animatedly. "Gregory said he saw three there. A woman and two males. Looked like they were settling in to stay."

"And you're certain it was that one?" Marcel urged, and then seemed to think better of having the conversation there. No doubt he was glancing over in Klaus and Cami's direction, but Klaus made sure to keep his demeanor relaxed and his gaze on the bartender.

He knew the two had moved a significant ways away, but unfortunately for Marcel, Klaus' hearing was even better than that of a normal vampire, or even of his siblings. Hybrid trait that he took full advantage of when needed. He only needed to hear one word to rise from his seat and make excuses to Camille before he slipped away into the night.

_Harbinger._

It couldn't be. Valencia Valdez was a fool, but she wasn't suicidal. She knew what he would do if she ever stepped foot in his presence again. Not to mention she shouldn't have physically been able to step foot into the city limits. Not after what had happened nearly one hundred years ago. Klaus easily moved through the city, making sure to stay far enough behind Marcel and the other vampire so they wouldn't spot him.

Sure enough they stopped in front of the house that had belonged to the traitorous bitch, but whatever signs of life the Daywalker had seen were gone. Klaus could hear Marcel berating the man for a false lead, issuing all sorts of punishments as they stopped outside the lawn of the aging building. They couldn't enter. No vampire could without invitation, no matter what became of the owner. Klaus surveyed the grounds from afar, narrowing his eyes when he spotted the fresh tracks near the flower bed. It could always have been from some tourists, a local venturing near it to see what old mysteries the place might hold, but there was a pattern to the prints. One that reminded him of someone standing guard, of monitoring the area for threats.

Someone had been there and whether or not it meant the woman was back or not, Klaus knew he wouldn't get any rest that night. No. He'd put the Harbinger and her betrayal out of his mind years ago, content with letting her hideaway from him in fear. She wouldn't live forever, that he knew. None of them ever did. And if he couldn't exact his revenge on the one who wronged him and his family then he would simply carry it out on the next in line.

After all, he was a big fan of the 'an eye for an eye' philosophy. Seemed it was time for him to put out feelers again for Valencia and her lineage. Heaven help whoever was doomed to carry on her legacy.

* * *

"We could have stayed at the hole in the wall place like four streets over for a quarter of the price," Caleb started, dropping his bag onto the floor and glancing over at Caroline. She was currently on the phone with her mother and rolled her eyes, though he wasn't sure if it was at him or because of the current conversation. Probably both. He also knew there was little use in pointing out things like money. He had seen Caroline go between being exceedingly frugal with what they did to not having a care in the world. He had a feeling it was a coping mechanism.

"I'm fine, mom," Caroline reiterated, plopping down on the bed, amused at the amount of bounce it had. She eyed Patrick out of the corner of her eye, watching him survey the room, and didn't want to take any notice of his frown. No doubt he too would have something to say about the hotel she had chosen. "I love you too. I'll call you tomorrow. I  _promise_." And not just because she didn't need another Klaus intervention.

Caroline hung up, dropping her phone onto the bed as well and stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds. She needed a moment to count to ten or she might snap some necks. She pulled her purse to her and picked out the hotel room keycards. "Here's yours and yours," she told the two of them, holding out one to each. "I like you both, really, but  _you_ -" She pointed at Caleb. "-snore like nobody's business and  _you-_ " Her attention turning to Patrick. She probably couldn't say anything about him being overbearing. "-also get your own room. They're one either side of this one so zip it on safety."

She needed some space. Caroline had realized that she did enjoy small moments of solitude, and while she usually thrived on having company, being constantly in theirs was beginning to aggravate her and that was the last thing any of them needed. When aggravated she seemed to attack people with light and since she didn't want to accidentally kill someone it was best if they could all sleep in their own rooms. Or so she had convinced herself.

Caroline wasn't a fool though and knew they would try to protest. "I'm going to take a bath. Caleb, can you see about us getting a meeting with the witches? Patrick." Oh hell. What did she need the vampire to do? Aside from stay out of Klaus' vision. Caroline was so not ready to open up that can of worms. "Why don't you make a list of everything you think we might need to know about this city?"

It'd keep the vampire occupied and it could turn out to be useful. She looked between the two of them, not surprised by either's reaction-Patrick's quickness to head off to do as he was asked while Caleb scowled at her, clearly not on board with the plan. Caroline held a hand up to the witch, her other rubbing at her temple. "Can we please do the 'Caroline are you insane?' part of this conversation  _after_  I get my bath?"

That really couldn't be too much to ask for.

Caleb shook his head, still not happy with the plan, but knew he wouldn't be able to talk her down just yet. "I'll go call the witches."

Caroline grinned, pleased to have won the round and headed off her bathroom, ready to scrub away three days' worth of grime from camping as well as soak in some bubbles. Maybe it would help push away the unsettling feeling that had settled over her ever since heading into the city. A girl could hope, right?

* * *

Three hours later and Caroline and Caleb were heading toward the cemetery that the witches had requested as a meeting place. Caroline had instructed Patrick to stay back, not trusting her luck for them to not have a run in with Klaus. She had noticed a few vampires as they moved through the crowds, blending into the jubilant crowds of tourists that danced around the streets. Caroline pushed down the need to stop and take in everything she was seeing, that she was hearing. She wanted to join in on the festivities that she didn't even understand, watch the trombone player play his instrument, see what was happening inside the bar with music that just seemed to call out for her to come and play. But she couldn't. Not yet. Duty was calling her and the sooner they met with the witches the better. Hopefully they would be able to provide some much needed insight into what exactly was happening in the city.

They were nearly at the graveyard when she stopped in the crowd, hairs on the back of her neck standing up as she looked up, trying to sense what was calling out to her, trying to draw her inwards. Her gaze locked on the window of a building, seeing a girl looking down, staring right at her. There was something off about her gaze, a wrongness to it that Caroline couldn't quite place, but she shook her head, hearing her name over the music.

"Caroline!" Caleb called again; already out of the crowd and waiting for her at the beginning of a side street.

Caroline glanced back at the window, frowning when she saw no one in it, before heading over to join Caleb. Was it a trick of her mind? Something she had imagined? Caroline didn't think so, but she knew she had to push it to the back of her mind for now. "I don't know how this is going to work," Caleb told her, and she glanced over at him, wondering what exactly he was talking about. "Cemeteries here are sacred ground which means you'll need an invite. I don't know if just anyone can give them or really if you'll even need one."

That caught her curiosity. "Why wouldn't I need one?"

Caleb shrugged, nodding to her, but clearly not wanting to say the words. He motioned to her hands and Caroline nodded, finally understanding. Maybe being the Harbinger altered that.

"Well, only one way to find out." She walked straight toward the cemetery, though slowed her pace once she was nearly there. The last thing she wanted to do was fall on her ass in front of him or anyone who might walk by. Except the boundary didn't seem to be there for her and she stepped right on across the threshold, not feeling any different. "Guess that answers that question."

"I wonder if anything else has changed," Caleb murmured, catching up to her and then leading the way toward where they were supposed to meet the witches.

Caroline brushed a hand through her hair. She wasn't sure, nothing else seemed to have changed, but maybe she simply hadn't noticed any differences yet. Caleb stopped walking in the middle of the path and she stopped beside him.

"I don't know what they're going to tell you," Caleb told her, looking more nervous than she had ever seen him. "But you need to remember, no matter how they try to spin everything; they had a part in their own circumstances. Yeah, there's an imbalance here-I can feel it to my very bones-but they have their own agenda. Everyone will in this." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground. "No one is innocent."

She didn't necessarily agree with the last statement. There were innocents in the world, but she had a feeling that he was right about there being no innocent players in the game she had been thrown into head first. "I'm going to take what everyone tells me with a grain of salt," she promised, unable to help but wish that Bonnie was around to help. Not that she didn't appreciate Caleb, but she had known Bonnie for what seemed like forever and they just seemed to think one another's thoughts sometimes.

"Good." Caleb started walking again, heading down into the mausoleum Sophie had texted him to meet. He was used to phone conversations with her, but her worry over Marcel hearing him and deducing his location had seemed reasonable.

What he hadn't expected was to walk down into the dark cavern and find Sophie bound and gagged beside a bound Claire Laveau with a blonde woman he didn't know standing next to them. He was about to yell for Caroline to get out, that it was a trap, but she was already down the stairs and in the room before he could utter a word.

"Rebekah?" Caroline asked confused as to why the Original was in the room with two bound women, no doubt the witches she was supposed to meet.

"What are you doing here?" Rebekah demanded, clearly not impressed to see her as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"I think I'm supposed to ask you that question." Caroline crossed her arms, glaring at the woman. "Aren't you supposed to be in Europe with Matt?" Not that she hadn't already known the Original wasn't there, but she never had figured out why the girl had left. She really did need to call Matt and make sure he was okay.

"Family matter. None of your concern." It was almost amusing how bored Rebekah looked with the conversation. "Who's your little toy?"

" _Caleb_. And he's not a toy," Caroline hissed, clearly annoyed at the lack of respect for the young man. She didn't see Caleb trying to silently dissuade her from talking until she had already spoken.

Rebekah dropped the phone she had been toying with, eyes widening in shocking realization as she finally looked at Caroline. "Oh no no no," she started, laughing as she glanced down at the two bound women before looking back at Caroline. "My brother's downfall all wrapped up nicely in the body of the one woman he dared to fall in love with. Well, this certainly should make everything much more interesting around here."


	10. Chapter 10

_If heaven's grief brings hell's rain  
_ _Then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday_

* * *

"I wouldn't use magic, warlock. It's punishable by death here," Rebekah taunted, unable to help herself as she glanced at Caleb. The glare he directed at her only made her laugh and tighten her hold on the two witches at her side.

She glanced over at Caroline, looking the cheerleader up and down as she tried to determine what was going through the other blonde's head. Rebekah had known that sticking around for a little longer would be beneficial, she just hadn't realized exactly how much until Caroline Forbes had walked down into the cold room. It hadn't clicked right away what was happening or who the girl was in the situation, but once Rebekah put the pieces together she was overwhelmed by her own emotions.

Amusement was winning out for the moment, mostly to cover up the fear that was trying to overtake her. Not because she was in the presence of the newest harbinger, but fear of how her brother would react to the news. There was no telling how Klaus would take it, too many variables with how he might act, but what worried Rebekah the most was if the damn cheerleader standing before her had  _known_  what she was all that time that her brother had been falling in love with her.

From the baby vampire's confused expression, and the way the witches had been talking of the girl, Rebekah didn't think Caroline had known, but she wouldn't feel comfortable with any of it until she had that confirmed.

"What are you talking about, Rebekah?" Caroline asked, and there was no way she could have pulled off the confusion she was displaying if it was an act. She may have always been the Mystic Falls gang's little distraction, but her acting talents were not that good.

"You don't know anything, do you?" Rebekah asked, dropping her hold on the witches as she stepped forward, circling the girl. "They've kept you in the dark about everything I'd imagine. Wanting you on their side and no one else's." She glanced over at the two witches, watching the boy hurry over to untie them. "Can't really expect anything less from witches really. Though, they're in for a rude awakening if they think you won't be protecting your own kind as well."

Caroline ran a hand through her hair, glancing between what Caleb was doing and the Original circling her. "So you're just going to talk in riddles too?" she asked, clearly frustrated and Rebekah grinned as the torch light flickered around them.

"There's a reason harbingers are usually human. They might not have the best control over their own emotions, but they have better control than us vampires that feel  _everything_  to much larger degrees." Rebekah watched the girl try to get herself under control, using some breathing technique she was certain she had seen Stefan use at some point. She walked toward her, stopping when she was right in front of her. Would this be like when Silas had been in her head? Would she need to slap some sense into her all over again?

Thankfully, the lights stopped flickering and Caroline was glaring at her, a sure sign the girl was in control of herself. "You and I need to talk, Caroline, though I think I'll let you hear their lies first. Meet me when you're done, hmmm?"

She was about to flash away but stopped at Caroline's voice, barely audible, but loud enough so Rebekah would hear. "You're not going to tell him, are you?"

There was an uncertainty to it, a fear that Rebekah knew all too well. It was the same fear she always felt when she didn't want her brother to know about her latest dalliance. It never ended well for the boy in question once Klaus knew she was smitten. "Not until we talk. I'll text you a location," Rebekah answered, her voice just as low, inaudible to the witches, before she flashed away.

Part of her wondered if she should head straight home to inform Niklaus of what she had learned, but Rebekah didn't want to be on the end of his temper tantrum once he learned the truth. Not yet, not until she knew all the pieces. She would give Caroline two hours to come and talk to her before she told her brother what he would need to know. Hopefully the other vampire would come to her before then, but if not, then she would do what was best for her family. Even if it meant breaking her brother's heart.

* * *

Hayley stared at the machines that were being brought inside, never having seen them outside of a movie or television program before. She vaguely had an idea of what they were for, sonograms, and various other pregnancy related tests. Each piece that was brought in was just another nail in her coffin, another reminder that she wouldn't be allowed to leave her gilded prison walls. Like the men who guarded the place around the clock. Something she hadn't noticed until she had tried to sneak out one day, only to be grabbed before she even made it down the porch stairs and dragged back into the house.

She had received a long lecture from Elijah hours afterward, reminding her that she carried something precious inside of her and that she needed to stay inside where it was safe. Hayley didn't agree with his assessment but she had wisely kept her mouth shut. The thing inside of her wasn't precious, it was a monster. Something sick and twisted that shouldn't exist and nothing would convince her otherwise.

"Don't look so down, wolf," Klaus started, interrupting Hayley from her thoughts, and she turned around, glaring at him as he walked into the house. Striding toward her as though he owned the place, and well, he did. She owned nothing and from the way he was looking at her, she felt as though she was nothing. Especially when his gaze moved away from her and right to the housekeeper who had entered the parlor as well. "I take it she has been eating what she needs to; taking the vitamins she was prescribed."

The woman, who Hayley had thought at first had been meant to be a companion of some kind to her but had turned out to be a strict enforcer of all Klaus and Elijah's rules, nodded. "Yes. And there have been no more escape attempts recently either," the woman informed him, and Hayley glowered at that, wanting to rip the woman's throat out.

"Seems as though someone is learning," Klaus mused, before directing the delivery men where to bring the equipment.

" _Someone_  is right  _here_ ," Hayley muttered, crossing her arms in annoyance as she looked between the two. Neither paid her any attention, but it didn't matter as her gaze locked on the last man entering the room, though he wasn't carrying boxes but a duffel bag. And it wasn't a stranger, but someone she knew all too well, someone she had been hoping and praying would be able to help her out of the situation she had gotten herself into, even if he had no reason to do so. Not after how she had betrayed him. "Tyler?"

Tyler stopped walking, eyes widening as he looked at her, but he didn't move toward her. No, instead he glanced between her and Klaus, lips pressing hard together as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do. "Ah, yes, your little back up plan to getting you out of this situation," Klaus mused, beckoning the boy to step forward. "Unfortunately for you, he's bound himself to me, haven't you?"

"Yes," Tyler replied immediately, glaring daggers at the Original. "Why's she here? What are all those machines for? Torture device?"

"Sonogram," Klaus stated as he walked away from the two. "I'm sure Hayley will be more than happy to fill you in on the details. And remember, Tyler, no saying anything negative against me to anyone. Including our dear sweet Caroline."

"Bastard," Tyler muttered as the man disappeared into the other room with the delivery men, leaving Hayley and him alone in the hallway. He knew the word sonogram, but was having a difficult time remembering what they were for briefly, before he stared at Hayley with wide eyes. "You're pregnant?"

She didn't  _look_  pregnant. But then most women didn't at first, right? He didn't know. "But who?" He hadn't known her to be sleeping with anyone. And why the hell would Klaus even care enough to get her a sonogram machine?

Hayley stared at the floor, not wanting to have this conversation at all. "It was a one-time thing. I was drunk. He was drunk. It shouldn't even be possible…" she trailed off, still not entirely sure how it even was possible. Nature's loophole or whatever didn't explain how his dead semen was apparently not so dead. She nodded toward the room Klaus had gone into in case Tyler hadn't picked up on who she had been implying, but from his horrified expression she had a feeling he got it.

"You fucking slept with  _Klaus_?" he demanded, clenching his fists to avoid lashing out and hitting anything. He couldn't have heard that correctly.

"And she wasn't even that good a lay," Klaus noted as he stepped back out into the hallway, smirking at Hayley's disgusted look and Tyler's confusion that quickly turned to anger. "You'll be staying here from now on. This one keeps trying to be a flight risk and while I do not care if her or the baby were to be killed by one of Marcel's minions or the big man himself, my brother seems intent on wanting this child to be born." And perhaps it would be good to have something else to hold over Elijah instead of always daggering him. "It seems I owe him one after all the headaches I've caused over the years."

"How brotherly of you," Tyler snarled, still trying to reel in his anger. The delivery men were all leaving and Klaus started walking away, seemingly intent on leaving them to themselves.

"She's not to leave the house. Nor is she allowed any other guests aside from me or my family. Kill any who try to enter and are not staff," Klaus told him, not bothering to turn around until he reached the front door. "Oh and Tyler. I saw Caroline the other day. Didn't even mention you to me."

"Does she know you knocked up Hayley?" Tyler growled, desperately wanting to pick up his phone and tell Caroline just that. To shatter whatever illusions she might have about the monster in front of him, but no matter how much he wanted to do it, his body didn't seem to want to function. His fingers refusing to reach for the phone in his pocket and do just that.

"No, and alas, because of what you agreed to, you won't be able to tell her," Klaus smirked, and then laughed as the realization dawned on the boy's face. "Can't even utter the words in her presence. Or anyone's actually outside of those who already know. Funny thing compulsion."

"It's a real barrel of laughs," Hayley muttered, glaring at him, hating that fact that he didn't even bother to acknowledge her presence. Though considering that when he usually did she was being thrown across a room or strangled maybe it was better that he didn't.

"I'll call when I need you for something aside from babysitting duty," Klaus informed him, still keeping his gaze only on the young hybrid. "And Tyler, do remember what else we talked about. Feel free to satiate your needs with the girl. Consider it payment for a job well done."

He was gone before either of them could react.

Hayley stared at the door for the longest time, not wanting to look at Tyler, not wanting to see the betrayal and hurt she was certain would be on his face. She forced herself to look up after a few moments, sighing heavily. She didn't see any of it though; just worry etching his every feature along with anger before he turned to her, placing a hand on each of her shoulders.

"I am going to get us out of this," he promised her, still reeling from everything he had just learned, but he knew that he needed to figure out how to get them free. They couldn't remain in New Orleans, trapped in one of Klaus' houses and at the mercy of his whims. No matter what Hayley had done to him, how she had betrayed him, Tyler couldn't leave her to this twisted fate.

"No, you won't," Hayley told him, shaking her head at his empty hope. Hope was a luxury she knew had slipped through her fingers long ago and was never going to come back. Nothing would get them out of the spider's web that they were entangled in. "Come on. I'll show you your room."

Tyler hesitated, watching her head up the stairs. She looked defeated, nothing like the girl who had helped him break his Sire bond or all the other Hybrid's. Gone was the spark she had always seemed to hold inside of her, that sarcastic charm that she unleashed whenever she felt like it. He hated seeing her like that and maybe he wouldn't be able to get them the hell out of the situation they were trapped in, but if nothing else he hoped he could help reignite that fight she used to hold inside of her.

* * *

"How do you know the Originals?" Sophie asked and Caroline could sense the woman's mistrust, her uncertainty in the situation. Whatever the witches must have envisioned happening when she strolled into town, Caroline could see that their plans were falling apart before her. And all because she knew who Rebekah was, because of what the Original had said.

Caroline shrugged, sitting down on the marble slab as she tried to act nonchalant about the situation. "They're from my hometown." So not a lie. They were from Mystic Falls, just about one thousand plus years before her time. "Klaus unlocked his Hybrid side courtesy of one of my best friends and her aunt."  _Rest in peace, Jenna._

Once the Originals had slammed into town nothing had been the same. She had thought maybe with them all moving away, or Rebekah having at least gone on her little whirlwind adventure with Matt, that maybe the town would get some sort of peace, but Caroline wasn't stupid. Mystic Falls had become less peaceful long before the family had stepped foot back in it. Her friends and she had just been shielded from the atrocities that took place on nearly a daily basis.

"And what the girl said about you being the one woman he's ever loved?" Sophie continued, and Caroline could just see the thought process going on in her head. No doubt wondering how they could exploit that information to their own advantage.

She narrowed her eyes, not liking the silent implication that hung between all of them. The torch light in the cavern flickered in response to her emotions and Caleb placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to ground her, but she was having none of it. "Whatever idea you've got going through your head about using me to distract him get it right the hell out of it." She was  _done_ being the Little Blonde Distraction. Especially to him. "He's my friend and I will not be used in that way against him." Not anymore.

"Do you have any idea what he's capable of?" Sophie started, and Caroline hated the 'are you insane?' look being directed her way. "The amount of people he's killed, that he  _will_  kill."

"I know exactly what he's capable of," Caroline muttered, doubting the woman before her could say the same. No doubt she had heard countless stories, but she probably hadn't lived through the terror that Klaus could create, that he could unleash. "And unless you've got the ability to see the future don't talk to me about what he will do. Nothing is set in stone."

"She has a point." The older witch offered a gentle smile, but Caroline held her ground, refusing to soften because of the expression. Fool her once and all of that. If anything, the woman seemed pleased that she wasn't so easily swayed. "Klaus Mikaelson has always been a wild card and none of us can determine how will react to anything that may or may not happen."

"He's not just a wild card. If you don't think he has like a billion and one plans going through his head right now then you're fools. For every scenario he has like three other plans just in case something should fail in the first one." For all of his impulsivity, Caroline knew that was one thing the two of them did have in common. They were both planners. She just focused on parties while he seemed intent on world domination or whatever nefarious scheme seemed most rewarding that day. "But you didn't call for me to talk about Klaus. So let's cut to the chase. What do you want?"

Because they obviously wanted something, Rebekah had been right about that. Though she wondered about the rest of what the older vampire had said and knew she would need to meet with her after this meeting. There was no way she would sleep with so many unanswered questions running through her mind.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Sophie asked all pretense of cordiality gone.

Caleb stiffened beside her, clearly not liking the how the conversation was going, but Caroline placed a hand on his arm to stop him from responding. "You don't," she replied with a shrug. "But so far I don't know if I can trust you either. So, you know, we're in the same boat."

Claire laughed at that as she stretched her sore muscles. "You've got spirit." She walked over to sit down beside Caroline. "Good. You're going to need it with the viper's nest that you've entered."

She reminded Caroline a little of Bonnie's grandmother back before everything had gone to hell. Back before Bonnie had learned she was a witch, before Stefan and Damon, before Elena's parents had died. "I know bits and pieces of what's going on." All different tales from different players who all seemed to have their own stakes in the game. "I can feel it though. There's a... _wrongness..._ that's the only way that makes sense to describe it. Everything is off kilter here and screaming to be righted." She'd been feeling discombobulated since they had driven into the city and she hated it. Her inner need for control was screaming at her to fix it, but she had no clue how to do so.

"That's our fault," Claire informed her, and Sophie snorted causing the others to look over at the younger witch. Obviously she didn't agree with that assessment. "Well, partly our fault. We all had our parts in the chaos that reigns here, Sophie." The witch leaned against the wall, staring at the floor and refusing to answer. "You'll have to forgive Sophie, Caroline. Her sister died to help us with part of our plan-"

"A needless part considering everything," Sophie spat, and Caroline wondered what the two women were referring to but knew they needed to stay on the bigger picture for the moment.

"As I was saying." The look Claire directed at Sophie was enough to stop the woman from interrupting again. "There was a balance to the city for many years. Werewolves, vampires, witches, we all lived as we pleased here. None of us quite in charge, but all of us having enough power to stop one section from taking over. But then the vampires were nearly all run out town or killed. That was back in 1919."

"When the Originals left...I'm gonna guess because of Mikael?" It was the logical conclusion. Caroline knew he was the reason the Mikaelson family usually left any city where they had created a home.

"Yes to both. There were still a few vampires around, but the majority were gone and those who remained were weakened or in hiding. Though we did not know that they were at the time. Werewolves and witches can live in relative peace with one another. We have nothing against them or them against us and so we ignored each other's presence." Claire sighed, cracking her knuckles as she stared up at the ceiling. "It was foolish of us not to notice the signs. The disappearing wolves, the dead tourist here and there, talk of a new king on the rise. But we foolishly believed we were the ones in power and you know what they say about egos?"

Caroline knew all too well how an ego could bring down even the most powerful among them. "Marcel rose to power under our noses. He was smart, starting out small, training his troops not to make too much noise. We tolerate some vampires to a degree, but not what's become of this city. They're everywhere, infecting the shadows with their kind." There was something about the way the woman said vampire that made Caroline uneasy. It was like she was talking about a disease or a plague. Something that needed to be eradicated. "When he ran the werewolves out of town we knew we had a problem and so we did something that we will always regret."

"What exactly did you do?" Caleb asked, speaking for the first time in minutes. Almost like a reminder that he was still present.

"They resurrected a witch," Sophie whispered, and Caroline glanced over at her, almost shocked by the turmoil in the woman's features as she pressed back against the wall.

"You didn't!" Caleb shook his head, looking between the two women in disbelief. "But you know the consequences, I know you do."

"We thought it would be for the greater good," Claire started, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

Caroline knew from Bonnie's bringing back Jeremy that doing such a thing was a huge risk and that it angered the other witches. "And not just any witch. No, they resurrected Marie Laveau. Except it didn't go correctly, did it?" Sophie continued, shaking her head, her lips twisted in anger. "Tell them what happened Claire. How your lot doomed us all."

"Wait,  _the Marie Laveau?_  Like the voodoo queen?" Caleb asked, and glanced over at Caroline seeing her confusion. "I'll explain who she is later."

"Yes, her. My ancestor." Claire sighed, turning her attention from Sophie to the other two. "We didn't think it had worked at first. Her body remained in the tomb, no sign of change at all."

"But my mother had foolishly brought my baby sister, not even a year old along with her when they did the spell," Sophie muttered, kicking at the ground as she pushed herself off the wall. "Apparently Marie's spirit went into the baby and to make matters worse, Marcel had seen the entire thing happen. He snatched her away as my mother crossed the threshold of the cemetery and because he had her no one dared cause him any harm. Too afraid what would happen to her."

"So you resurrected the powerful voodoo queen into a baby who was abducted by Marcel?" Caroline asked wanting to make sure she got all of that correct. "And who's Marcel?"

"The vampire king. The one who rules New Orleans," Caleb told her, shrugging at her arched brow. "Patrick tells me things when you're taking forever to shower."

"Three days in the wilderness!" she protested before turning her attention back to the other two witches. "Okay so he had the baby and then what?"

"He got another witch, one who didn't know any better, to bound the girl to him," Claire informed her. "Nearly stripping us of all our powers and making it so we can't do anything in retaliation to him. Nothing permanent."

"He's kept her, raised her as his own and she thinks we're the bad ones." Sophie shook her head. "My baby sister is the one who tracked the magic my eldest used so we could try and bring her back. She would have been the one to inform Marcel who disobeyed him and led him to kill her. She got our parents killed, never knowing they were just trying to get her back. Not that we even know if she's even in there anymore or how much of her has been replaced by Marie."

"We can't kill her or Marcel, not without first breaking the bond that has been linked between the two. Then hopefully we can send Marie back to the Other Side and Davina can live her own life and our magic will be restored. We all gave up some of it for the spell to work, thinking it would only be needed for a few days so Marie could put an end to Marcel's madness. Instead it's lingered for more than a decade and we've only weakened in what we can do." Claire laid her hands down on her lap, looking at Caroline. "We need your help to restore the balance, to free Davina and put Marcel in the place where he belongs."

"To right their wrongs," Sophie whispered, staring at the marble slab they were on. It was only then that Caroline realized they had been sitting on someone's grave.

"You do realize that I have no clue how I would even go about doing any of that," Caroline pointed out because she didn't. She didn't have the first clue how she was going to accomplish anything like that. She also didn't think she was being told the entire story or the entire endgame that the witches wanted, but she held that back. "Don't know if you know this or not, but I've been a Harbinger for oh….like two weeks."

"And you have all the necessary power to do what you must," Claire assured her, but Caroline shook her head.

"That doesn't mean anything if I don't know how to use it." Or trust that she should.

"That's where we come in. We can help you with all of that," Sophie told her, and while Caroline nodded, she wasn't sure she liked the idea. "We can teach you what we know, what Caleb's ancestors know and help you get ready for the battle."

"Wait. Hold up.  _Battle?_ " When did there become a battle? She hadn't heard anyone mention anything about a battle. Had she blanked out some part of the conversation?

"We're in the middle of a war, Caroline," Claire smiled, though the sweet grandmother look was gone, replaced by someone much more calculating. "And you are our Pièce de r _é_ sistance."

Caroline rose, shaking her head at that. "No I'm not. I'm not anyone's anything in this. That much I do know." She took a step backward, looking between the two women, her gut telling her not to trust them and to get the hell away. "You have your own agenda here, one that I'm pretty damn sure doesn't just have to do with keeping a balance and  _that_  is what I am supposed to do. You want Davina back, maybe to release this Marie person to the Other Side, maybe to harness her power. But something tells me you won't be satisfied with just that. Or you wouldn't have done a spell you apparently shouldn't have done in the first place."

She didn't like how threatening Claire's expression had become, the daggers being glared in her direction reminding her of when Bonnie had been losing herself to expression. "Maybe I'll help you some because you do need your powers to be whole, but there's more going on here and I am not a pawn. Not to anyone." Caroline glanced at Caleb, nodding for him to start heading toward the exit. "We're leaving now. I suggest you don't follow us." She focused for a moment and light enveloped her hand. "I'm sure you both know what this means."

"We're on your side, Caroline," Sophie pleaded, and part of her wanted to believe that.

"I'm going to let you prove that with time, but I do not trust anyone right now. Not until I know the whole story." Caroline followed Caleb out of the mausoleum, not pulling the light back into her until they were near the gate to the cemetery. She stopped before they got there which caused him to stop as well. "Did you know they were going to do this? What they want from me?"

Caleb sighed, and it broke her heart because obviously he had known  _something_. "My aunt put me in contact with them before I came to you." She stepped back from him, shaking her head in disbelief.

"So it was all just a lie." The friendship she had thought they were forming. His seeming to care about her wellbeing. God, she was such a fool.

"What?  _No!"_  Caleb shook his head, but didn't move toward her and she was grateful for that. "All I knew was I was supposed to get you to go to New Orleans, that the witches needed your help. No one bothered to really fill me in on the whys. If I was in league with them don't you think I'd have told them about...well... _him?_ "

He raised a good point because surely the witches knowing about her...friendship with Klaus would have been something he would have told them right away if he was on their side. If there even were sides. She was confused. Except it was obvious that Caleb hadn't told the witches anything because they had been genuinely shocked to learn that she even knew the Originals. So that must have meant that some of her budding friendship with Caleb was real, right?

Caroline was still hurt by all of the secrecy, and it must have shown on her face because he frowned, sighing again and stuffed his hands in his pockets. It was a movement that she had come to associate with him whenever he was feeling badly or unsure.

"I'm going for a walk," Caroline told him, and from the way she said it she thought it was pretty obvious that she didn't want any company.

"Just...keep your cell on?" he asked, and she nodded before starting to walk off, but he called out which caused her to stop for a moment. "Are you going to come back to the hotel?"

"Yeah, I just don't know when. Try to keep Patrick calm." And with that she headed off into the night, needing to do a little thinking before she went to find Rebekah, knowing she needed the other girl's side of the story now more than ever.

* * *

"This is for us?" the girl asked, looking around the meager apartment in awe. Though considering she would have lived in the woods for most of her life, flitting from one grassy meadow to a dirty filled clearing, Klaus couldn't quite blame her for being amazed. He could vaguely remember his own awestruck gaze when his siblings and he had left behind their small village for larger cities.

_Anna. Her name is Anna,_ Klaus reminded himself, knowing he needed to remember their names. After all, that was what an Alpha did and they had taken to him being their alpha. "You'll be spread out among the apartment complexes outside of the French Quarter. Which you are  _not_  to enter. Not unless I give word for you to do so. The rest of the city is yours to roam as you please." He waved his hand toward the window, watching the weres inspect the furnished apartment.

"Why not the French Quarter," another asked. Jack. His name was Jack. And Klaus nearly snapped at him, fearing disobedience, but realized the boy was merely curious. There was none of the mistrust he was used to hearing from Tyler coming from Jack's tone.

"Our old friend Marcel has a policy that any werewolf caught within its borders will be killed," Klaus informed them as he leaned against the wall. "And since we do not want any of you to die or for him to know of your presence, stay out of the area. If you need anything from it, let me know and I'll have someone retrieve what you desire."

They nodded, seeming to accept the limitations, but he would still have their movements monitored. It wouldn't be the end of the world if Marcel learned there were some wolves back in the area, but Klaus would rather keep their presence a secret for as long as possible. It was why he had them living in different areas of the city. That way if Marcel or any of his minions stumbled across one group they would hopefully not find the rest.

"Once I've regained control of the area you'll be free to enter its borders without worry," he continued, pleased that the group seemed to be setting into their place easily enough.

"And what do you want us to do for now?" Anna asked, and how he enjoyed the way she spoke to him. Keeping her head slightly bowed whenever she was finished talking. He'd seen it countless times when he had infiltrated the packs, taking who he wanted to become Hybrids, and while the Hybrids had done the same to him once they turned, it wasn't quite the same as it was now, completely under her own will and without the Sire bond asking for this allegiance.

"Live your lives. Get jobs if you like. Anything that will help you blend in with society. Simply be ready to take upon a task when I ask it of you," Klaus said, watching as the weres in the room nodded in agreement. He could smell their excitement, their anticipation for the coming days. Some of them would be sacrifices in the coming days. Those he deemed the weakest or those who might betray him would be the collateral damage when the time came for it. But for now he would allow them their happiness. It would only do to strengthen their bond to him. "But do know that if you fail me, my punishment will be swift and severe."

"We won't let you down," they all promised, nearly simultaneously, heads bowed in submission, and Klaus smiled as he left the group to go seek out the next and see how they were settling in.

His plans were going quite nicely, and while that pleased him, part of him couldn't hold back the paranoia that always came when life was going so easy. There would be something to trip it up, something out to destroy all the progress that he was making, there always was. But he would be ready and waiting for anything that was thrown his way and conquer it just as he had conquered his father in time.

* * *

Caroline didn't know how long she had been walking or where she had even ended up. All she knew was that the bright lights and cacophony of music seemed to be far away, though really it was only a few streets over, and she was walking down an empty street. The porch lights were almost all off, with only a few shining her way as she walked down the cobblestone pathway, and trying to make sense of everything she had been told.

Caleb had  _known_  the witches prior to their coming to New Orleans. Had been in contact with them even, and she wondered how many times he had been off to "call his mom" had really been him talking to one of the two women she had just left. It was taking a lot of effort on her part to real her emotions in, to not let them hang right on her sleeve for any to see as she walked down the street. Caroline knew that doing so was dangerous now, more so than when it had only been the bloodlust she would have needed to fight back when she was overwhelmed. Now there was the fact that she could cause the lights around her to flicker, the damn weather to change, and not to mention freaking make her hands and body glow. She couldn't let any of those things happen as she walked, not wanting to give anyone anything to notice.

Not that a pretty blonde walking alone in the Quarter wasn't noticeable by itself, something she had forgotten about as she nearly bumped into the two men who had stepped into her path. "Hello there, sweetheart," one of them greeted, and she was on alert right from that point. Not to mention bristling at the endearment that didn't sound all that great coming from a stranger's mouth.

She'd look more closely at why she was reacting that way to the damn word when she wasn't in her current predicament. "Yeah, I'm not interested," she told them, rolling her eyes at the two and side stepped around them. They flashed in front of her and she chided herself for not realizing sooner that they were vampires. "Still not interested."

Though this time she didn't attempt to walk around them. They were obviously older than her and it wasn't like she didn't have her own secret weapon if she needed it. "Did you get permission to be here yet, little vamp?" the other asked, and oh she did not like how he flicked her blonde curls off her shoulder.

"Permission from whom? This is America still, isn't it? Pretty sure I can walk in whatever city I want to without permission," she replied, glaring at the two and already feeling done with the conversation. Though, she filed it away that apparently this Marcel fellow liked new vampires to get permission to venture into his domain. That was interesting.

"Looks like someone needs to be taught manners," the first one laughed, the lecherous look he was directing her way making Caroline want to throw up on his shoes.

"I was thinking the same thing actually," a voice came from behind them, and Caroline didn't need to turn around to know that it was Rebekah. She wondered if the Original had been following her or if this was just a happy coincidence. With her luck, it really could have gone either way. "I don't think Marcel would be pleased to know you're bothering the tourists."

"She's a vampire. You know the rules. Any new vampires need to pay visit to him before they can roam," the lecherous one reminded, sneering at her and was clearly annoyed that Caroline had moved out of his immediate reach.

"Somehow I doubt he wants you harassing the newbies after you've informed them of what they're to do, hmm?" Rebekah continued, smoothing back her hair and already looking bored with the conversation.

"Technically they didn't even inform me of much. You'd think they would give like an address or something for where a girl is supposed to go so she can do this whole meet and greet," Caroline pointed out, crossing her arms as she assessed the two men. They seemed less intent to try anything with Rebekah present. "I'll be sure to inform this Marcel fellow of your-"

"Inform me of what?" another voice interrupted, and from the way the two male vampires stiffened at the sound, Caroline guessed it was Marcel. She also noted that Rebekah seemed to raise herself a bit higher.

"Are you the Marcel who I'm apparently supposed to meet?" Caroline asked, turning around so she could offer her best 'Miss Mystic Falls' smile in greeting. Whatever she had been envisioning when seeing him the actual Marcel didn't look anything like the monster everyone kept painting him as. But then again she knew Klaus, and behind those dimples was someone who easily ripped out others' hearts so Caroline knew that appearances were often deceiving. "This is so not on the travel plans I got when my friends and I decided to come visit New Orleans. I seriously didn't mean to disregard some policy that I didn't know about, but you know, your guys here should probably explain where a girl is supposed to go to actually do the whole greeting thing instead of trying to hit on her. Just saying."

Marcel laughed, waving off the two men who immediately vacated the area. "Well aren't you a spirited little thing," he remarked, appreciatively looking her up and down before his gaze rested on the ring on her hand. "And not as innocent as you look either. You're a young one and yet you have a Daywalker ring."

"My best friend's a Bennett witch," Caroline replied, looking down at her ring and holding her hand up so it sparkled a little in the porch light. "She knew about vampires before I even knew about them and helped me out." From the frown on Rebekah's face Caroline wondered if she had already said too much, but it seemed the answer satisfied Marcel's curiosity.

"Is she the one you're traveling with?" he asked, and Caroline shook her head, realizing that he was trying to get information out of her. No doubt trying to assess her threat level.

"No, she's off on her own adventure. I'm with some other friends. I've always heard New Orleans has great music and art and wanted to see it for myself." Which wasn't a lie. She  _did_  want to see what all the fuss was about. It just wasn't her only reason for hanging around.

"Food as well. Be sure to try our gumbo," Marcel suggested, and while he smiled still, Caroline decided she didn't like it one bit. It had an underlying sinister quality to it that reminded her of a viper waiting to attack. "And how do you know Rebekah?"

"I dated her friend Matt. We attended the same high school for a bit," Rebekah answered before Caroline could and she was grateful, unsure how she much of her relationship with the Original family she should reveal. "Back when I was attempting some normalcy. Imagine my surprise when I came upon two of your lackeys trying to hit on my friend. You need better help."

"I'll take that under advisement," Marcel said, and the sweetness he had been exuding was gone, replaced by a mocking demeanor that seemed to bristle Rebekah. Though the girl didn't react outwardly, Caroline could see the hate in her eyes. But Marcel was back to focusing on Caroline and picked up her hand even, pressing a kiss to the back of it and it took all of her willpower not to pull away at the gesture. "It was lovely to meet you. Feel free to drop by the club and enjoy your stay in New Orleans. I'm sure Rebekah will make mention of where it is."

"Thanks," Caroline beamed, still keeping up her facade. "I'll be sure to try the gumbo."

His smiled at Caroline, before he nodding to Rebekah, and then flashed off into the night. "Let's go," Rebekah muttered, grabbing Caroline by the arm and steering her down the road and away from the area.

"You seriously do not have to drag me!" Caroline protested, trying to break free of the Original's grip, but it was too tight.

"Of all the people you had to run into," Rebekah was grumbling, paying her no mind as she flashed away, dragging Caroline along. "I know Nik is gone for a few more hours so I guess we'll be having this conversation at our house." At least there no one would be able to listen in on them.

"Oh goody," Caroline muttered to herself, ignoring how Rebekah's grip had tightened at the utterance. They stopped moving once they were situated outside of one of the Quarter's townhouses. It was a far cry from the Mikaelson manor back in Mystic Falls, but there was something about it that just screamed wealth to Caroline. Maybe it was the detailing to the architecture of the outside?

"Well, come along," Rebekah hurried, already at the doorway and looking none too pleased with how Caroline was busy staring at the building instead of following her. "Unless you'd like me to inform my brother of exactly what's going on here and now."

"Inform me of what exactly?" Klaus asked, coming to stand behind Rebekah.

No. No no no no no. Caroline's eyes widened. She was not ready for this. Could she possibly flash away without him noticing her? Before she could even attempt any kind of escape, Klaus had spotted her and then flashed down to her, grabbing hold of her before flashing back into the house. His grip was firm but didn't hurt as he slammed the door closed, pushing Rebekah into the house as well.

He let go of her arm and Caroline brushed hair off of her face as she peered up at him, biting her lip at the steely gaze he had locked on Rebekah before turning to look at her. It softened a bit, but the determination was still there in his eyes. "I believe you both have some explaining to do."

* * *

Klaus had expected to find Rebekah at home when he'd arrived back earlier than he'd intended after finishing his business with the wolves. At first he'd chalked up the lack of her presence to her maybe being off somewhere antagonizing Marcel or blowing off some steam by shopping. His mind hadn't turned immediately to betrayal, which considering how volatile their relationship had been recently, was a sure sign that things were slowly returning to normal between them.

Then he had heard her return and those words escape her mouth, he couldn't help but wonder who the hell she was conspiring with  _about him._  And then to find Caroline at the bottom of the step staring up at him with her wide eyes and troubled gaze, he knew something was going on and he did not appreciate being out of the loop. "Don't make me repeat myself," he warned, eyes flashing gold as he tried to get his temper under control.

"Oh don't be an ass, Nik," Rebekah started, but stopped talking when he flashed a glare in her direction. "Why don't we go into the living room instead of having this conversation in the hallway? I could use a drink." She had already turned on her heel before he could respond. "And I'm sure Caroline could use one as well."

Caroline hadn't moved from the spot he had placed her, still doing that delightful chewing on her bottom lip as she looked at him. "What are you doing here?" Klaus asked, studying her closely, trying to determine anything from the way she held herself.

"Didn't you say something about me probably enjoying the culture here? Maybe I just came to see what all the fuss is about?" She shrugged, not quite looking at him anymore, and he arched a brow at that. A telltale sign she wasn't being truthful.

"As much as I would like that to be true, sweetheart," he started, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "We both know that's a lie. So try again."

She looked at him then, sighing as her shoulders slumped. "I...don't really know where to start." And he could tell that was the truth which only worried him more. What exactly had she been keeping from him and why.

"From the beginning." Klaus had learned that was usually the best place to start. She nodded and opened her mouth and closed it a few times as she tried to formulate what to say. Perhaps Rebekah was right and drinks were needed. He steered Caroline into the living room, unsurprised when his sister offered them both a glass of scotch. He watched Caroline eye it warily for a moment before taking it and downing it in a matter of seconds. Klaus frowned at Rebekah who simply shook her head and sat down on the couch.

"Okay, so beginning," Caroline started, placing the empty glass down on the table. "So you remember how my mom took me to New York as my graduation present?"

"Of course," Klaus murmured, sitting down on a chair as well. "If I recall correctly, you rambled quite a bit on the phone when you couldn't sleep." He watched her smooth her hands through her hair, trying to cover up her blush, and couldn't help feeling a tiny bit pleased at the reaction. Even Rebekah's eye roll wouldn't bring him down.

"Right.  _Anyway._  So we didn't just go there for touristy things. It was the main reason, but apparently my great grandmother on my mom's side had left me something and we were going to meet the trustee. Or I was the trustee. I don't know. The legalese confuses me. I was being gifted with something." Caroline shrugged, sinking down on the couch opposite from Rebekah. "I thought it'd be like a collection of ugly sweaters. Maybe enough money for a new transmission for my car. Something like that." He watched her look off, not at all liking the frown on her face.

"I'm guessing it didn't quite live up to your expectations." Klaus reached over; lifting the glass she had emptied and moved to refill it.

"If only." She still had that faraway look for another moment, before snapping back to reality. "No, instead I met my great grandmother. Apparently she wasn't dead. And apparently I had met her like once before when I was two or something, but my mom and I hadn't seen her since that day."

Klaus nodded, wondering when the story would start to become relevant to why she was in New Orleans, but knowing Caroline he needed to let her keep talking. "I'm sure that wasn't something you were expecting to see."

Caroline looked over at him then. "You don't know the half of it." And then she was looking at Rebekah while she wrung her hands in her lap. He watched his sister nod. "And I guess I just need to come out and say this part even if I don't know exactly what the hell happened because no one freaking fills me in on anything. But my great grandmother, her name, is-was- _was_  because she's dead now. It was Valencia Valdis."

Klaus froze, staring at Caroline. He had to be hearing her wrong. Where had she heard that name? He glanced at Rebekah, eyes narrowing in rage. Had his sister put her up to this? Was that what was happening? Because the other option couldn't be true. But Caroline was still talking and no longer looking at either of them, staring instead at her hands in her lap.

"And she touched me and like totally disintegrated before my eyes."

Klaus shook his head, refusing to hear her words. Willing the woman before him to stop talking, for what was coming out of her mouth to not be true.

"I'm the new Harbinger."

He threw the glass he had been holding across the room. It hit the wall, shattering as it landed on the floor. The table with the scotch bottle was flipped next, followed by the end table, and whatever Klaus was able to get his hands on in his rage. He didn't know what he was destroying any longer, simply needing to let out the anger that was boiling in his veins. It couldn't be true. He _refused_  to let it be true.

Not her.

_Not her._

He vaguely heard Rebekah screaming at him to stop, telling him to calm down, but Klaus disregarded her, continuing to wreak havoc on the room. It wasn't until he heard Caroline's voice, barely audible through all of his rage, that he stopped moving and focused his attention on the girl.

"And now you hate me."

Her elbows rested on her knees, head buried in her hands and the image she created tugged at his heart. A brief flash of uncertainty coursed through him, wondering if she had known all along whom she was kin to, but he doubted it. He'd looked into her family background himself when he had been learning all he could about this girl who fascinated him, this baby vampire who hadn't wanted to die on her deathbed. Nothing had pointed to her being related to Valencia. And while Caroline was a decent actress, the sorrow she was displaying right now wasn't something she could contrive.

Klaus knelt in front of her, taking hold of her hands and forcing her to look at him. The anguish in her eyes only solidified his belief that she hadn't known. "I am going to fix this," he told her, the wheels already turning in his head.

"There's nothing to fix, Klaus. Can't exactly give her the powers back or anything." Caroline frowned, looking down at her hands in his own.

"That's just it, Caroline. You can never give your powers to another, sweetheart," he told her, making sure his voice was soothing as he tilted her chin so that she was looking at him. "You do that and you'll die just as she did." Something that was  _never_  allowed to happen. Not if he had any say in it and he would make certain he did. "You have two aunts, yes?"

Caroline nodded, scrunching her nose in confusion. "Yeah, what does…?"

"One in Seattle and the other somewhere in California," he continued, rising from where he had been kneeling. He couldn't remember if they had any children already, but they would be easy enough to dispose of. As long as Liz didn't try to procreate again then she would be fine. He highly doubted the Sheriff had time for that anyway.

Caroline nodded again, running a hand through her hair again as she tried to figure out what he was going on about. "Yeah, but…" she froze, staring up at him in horror. She would only have to give her power away eventually if there was someone in her family line to give it to. She was an only child and there wasn't any way she could have kids, the chances of her mother having any more was pretty slim, but her aunts. " _No._  Don't you even freaking think about it."

She rose, willing that not to be the way his thought process had been heading, but from the way he steadfastly avoided her gaze and the way Rebekah was doing the same she knew that was exactly what he'd been thinking. "You are not allowed to kill my aunts!"

"I will kill however many innocents that I have to so that you will live," Klaus informed her, unsurprised by her outburst. He caught the arm she was swinging at him with, stopping her from actually hitting him. "When was the last time you even talked to them?"

"They were at my graduation!" she protested, trying to get her arm free from his grip. "You leave them the hell alone."

"There's more that you need to know," Rebekah spoke up, and the two looked over at her. Though Caroline didn't quit trying to fight for release. Klaus kept his grip on her, still not hurting, but not budging either. "The witches know of her. Apparently they've been trying to get her here ever since she came into her powers. Though they didn't know of her connection to you."

"And I told them to get whatever ideas they had about using me to get to you out of their heads." Caroline growled at another failed attempt to wrench her arm free. "I'm rethinking this policy."

"Quiet, sweetheart," Klaus admonished. She tried to stamp on his foot, but it made no difference.

"She also had a run in with Marcel before I dragged her here," Rebekah continued, looking as though she was trying to not laugh at the power struggle. "I doubt he knows who she is and probably believes the lie that she's a vampire tourist, but we both know that won't last for long."

"You really do delight in landing yourself in trouble." Klaus frowned, and Caroline finally broke free from his grip when he seemed lost in thought, no doubt planning his next move.

"Right, it's been a blast, but I'm leaving now." Caroline looked around for her purse in the wreckage that was the room, plucking it out from under the destroyed coffee table.

Klaus blocked her path. "I'm afraid you're not quite grasping the situation you've gotten yourself in, Caroline," he started, and she rolled her eyes, trying to sidestep around him.

"He tries anything and I'll just zap him." Or whatever it was that she could do now. She really needed to name the shadow and light trick.

Klaus was having none of it though, not letting her leave the room and blocking her escape with his body. "He won't go at you directly, Love. No, he'll learn who you are, where you're from, and send someone to retrieve the person you love the most." Caroline froze, looking up at him in horror. He knew he had her attention then, knew mention of Marcel threatening her mother would stop her from fighting him for the moment. He placed his hands on her shoulders, sliding them up and down, creating a soothing motion as he continued to describe the horror Marcel would create. "Have her dragged down here, taunt you with your inability to find her, maybe send you parts of her. A finger here, an earlobe there, but you won't be able to do anything to him. Fearful it could leave you without ever locating where he is holding her captive. And then, when he has you right where he wants you, he will slit her throat in front of you, leaving you helpless to save her."

Caroline shook her head, fingers threading through her hair as she pictured it happening. The lights in the room began to flicker before shattering in their bulbs. She couldn't do this. She had nearly lost her mom only a few weeks before and that had broken her. Actually losing the woman just wasn't allowed to happen. She felt as though she was drowning and couldn't pull herself out of the water no matter how hard she tried to hold onto something to keep herself afloat.

"Hey, hey," Klaus whispered, and she shut her eyes, reminded instantly of that morning in the woods and his biting words that had cut to her very core. God, she couldn't handle any of that at the moment. "I'll send some of my people to watch out for her. Who do we have of the witchy variety near Virginia, Rebekah?"

Had she heard him correctly? Was he going to protect her mother? Caroline looked up at him through tear filled eyes. "I think Agatha is in DC. I'll give her call," Rebekah said, walking past the two of them.

"I don't have a clue what the hell I'm doing," Caroline started, trying to fight back the tears that desperately wanted to spill. Klaus kept up his soothing touch, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. She nearly leaned into him, wanting to curl up against his chest and seek the comfort she needed from him, but she forced herself not to. Instead she shook her head and took some calming breaths, needing to focus herself. "I need to get back to the hotel. Caleb's waiting for me."

"Caroline, if you think I'm letting you leave this house right now you have lost your mind," Klaus growled, his touch no longer soothing, hands tightly gripping her arms. Not until he could secure a new plan, figure out how they would work in Caroline being the Harbinger into the chaos that was already reigning over the city.

"Excuse you." She pushed away from him then, breaking his hold on her arms. "You don't get to tell me if I can leave this house or not. I am not one of your possessions, Klaus. I'm your  _friend_ and friends don't do that."

He was up in her personal space again, nose nearly touching hers and she pressed her hands against his chest, trying to keep up a barrier. "I really think it's time you stopped pretending all we are is friends," he told her, and oh god, his hands were in her hair, almost cradling her head. If she just leaned in that fraction of an inch, Caroline knew her lips could brush against his, but she pushed at his chest again, refusing to acknowledge what he was saying to her.

"And I'm sorry for this, sweetheart, but you're really not leaving me much of a choice at the moment," Klaus murmured, resting his forehead against hers. She frowned, wondering what the hell he was talking about before his hands moved, effectively snapping her neck. Klaus caught her body as she fell.

"Agatha will be in Mystic Falls within the- _really_ ,  _Klaus_?" Rebekah sighed, hanging up the phone as she walked into the room, pressing her lips together at what he had done. "She's going to be livid when she awakens. I hope you're ready to get entirely new lighting in this place. You already need someone to fix the mess you made in here."

Klaus lifted Caroline's body, cradling her close to his chest. He nodded toward her fallen purse. "Go find the witch she came with and bring him back here. I believe we have some catching up to do with him."

"And when he tries to fry my brain?" Rebekah protested as she picked up the purse.

"Explain to him that if he wishes to see Caroline again he'll refrain from doing so." Finished with the conversation, Klaus headed to leave the room, intent on putting Caroline somewhere comfortable for her rest.

"Does someone want to inform me why the living room is destroyed and why you're carrying Miss Forbes up the stairs?" Elijah asked as he walked into the room, surveying the damage.

"I'm certain our dear sister will be more than happy to explain everything," Klaus told him, heading up the stairs and to the bedroom that joined with his own.

He carefully lay Caroline down on the bed, listening to Rebekah's dramatic retelling of the situation as he pulled the chair from the vanity to sit beside the bed. He stared down at the girl, knowing his sister was right and Caroline would no doubt be furious with him once she regained her senses, but he had no time to contemplate that. Klaus leaned back in the chair, trying to figure out how to rearrange the pieces on his carefully planned chess board to accommodate the newest piece he now had in his possession. As well as how to keep her from succumbing to the fate of every other Harbinger through time. He had meant it when he said he would be her last love, and Klaus had no intention of letting any relationship with her last only a century or two. They would have forever, no matter how many had to die for it to happen.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

_You're never scared to walk through the fire_  
_I wish I had your faith_  
_I turn away_  
_Knowing my heart could break  
_ _I'm so afraid to fall and surrender_

* * *

Caleb didn't trust the Original they were hurrying after, but he knew they had to follow along or they might never see Caroline again and that was something he wasn't about to let happen. Hopefully they could get brought to wherever the vampires were holding her and then escape. Somehow. He didn't quite have a clue how Patrick and he would go about doing that, especially with the other vampire looking ready to bolt at any second, his apparent tie to Caroline being the only thing that kept him following them.

"If you hurt her," Caleb growled, nearly bumping into the woman as she stopped and whirled around to look at him.

"One, if you actually had any clue how to use whatever powers you must have considering you're a witch, you would have used them already," Rebekah started, flicking one finger into the air. "Two, she's the damn Harbinger, we can't hurt her." Snapping her neck had merely been incapacitating her for the moment. "I think that's enough for right now. Let's hurry along, my brother is quite anxious to speak to you."

Caleb glowered at her back as she turned again and headed off down the street. It didn't take them long to arrive at the townhouse and Rebekah ushered them both inside, glancing out to the street to see if they were being watched. It didn't appear so, but considering the eyes and ears Marcel had access to in the city it wouldn't surprise her if they had been. "Nik," she called out, directing the other two to proceed into the living room that was still in disarray. "Excuse the mess. My brother had one of his tantrums again. I'm sure you'll find something you can sit on."

She left them to do just that, and Caleb glanced over at Patrick, watching the vampire's gaze dart all over the room. He seemed to be looking at the various wooden objects that were broken. No doubt wondering which would be used against him. "Stay calm," Caleb hissed, not wanting the other man to bolt. There was no way he could take on the Originals by himself if that's what it came down to.

"Ah, you're here. Splendid."

They heard Klaus before they saw him, both men stiffening upon hearing his voice, and the smile that was on the Hybrid's face only made Caleb even more fearful. He had grown up hearing stories of what this man could do; the terror that he instilled in not only the vampire community, but just the supernatural one was astounding. Klaus was the boogeyman and he had his friend. "And it seems Caroline's already used her powers to aid those in her charge. Hello, Patrick."

"What did you do to Caroline?" Caleb demanded, grateful that his voice didn't tremble, even if his hands were doing so at his sides.

"Caroline is safe. Resting in fact," Klaus informed him, but there was something about the way the man said it that Caleb didn't quite believe that was what she was doing. "You'll see her in time, but I had Rebekah bring you here for a reason. You're of the Leseid Coven, are you not?"

Caleb nodded, wondering how Klaus even knew his coven's name. None but those closest to the Harbinger should have known and he knew Caroline couldn't have said anything about it considering he hadn't told her about them in any detail yet. "Don't look so surprised, Caleb isn't it?" Klaus was smiling again, and it only further cemented his creep factor in Caleb's mind. "I knew Valencia quite well. Not to mention a few of the other Harbingers through the centuries." He laughed at Caleb's disgusted look. "Not in the way you're thinking, but considering I've held great amounts of power in the Supernatural world for nearly one thousand years it was only a matter of time before they sought me out."

Caleb didn't respond, not wanting to give anything away to the Hybrid. He was listening to the rest of the house, trying to pick up on any other conversations that might be happening, but since his hearing was normal it wasn't working out very well.

"Caroline seems to have landed herself in quite the mess. You see, Marcel, the counterfeit king, is going to learn of who Caroline is. It won't take him long considering the resources he has at his disposal. He will not want a Harbinger interfering with what he's built here," Klaus told him, and Caleb nodded. None of that was a surprise, but he hadn't been too concerned. Caroline would be able to handle herself with her powers. "I'm sure you're thinking he'll try to attack her, but the problem with that assessment is that Marcel learned everything he does from me. And I happily told him how to manipulate the Harbinger to control her power over a century ago."

"Of course you did," Caleb muttered, not quite sure how anyone could control the Harbinger. It must have shown on his face, because Klaus leaned forward, entirely too close for Caleb's liking.

"He will destroy the people she loves; break her until she's a hollow shell of the girl we know until he can use her to his own purposes. Valencia did her a great disservice by giving her these powers now when she's so young, so inexperienced," Klaus paused, his eyes yellowing and Caleb couldn't help but take a step back, sensing the danger that was housed inside of the man's skin. "You will contact your coven and you will get them to send a few members to Mystic Falls in order to protect Liz Forbes. I've sent one of my own already, but I have no doubt that Marcel will do all in his power to cripple Caroline's effectiveness once he learns of her true nature."

Caleb didn't move from the spot, mulling over what Klaus had said and it  _was_  a good plan. It couldn't hurt to do that, could it? "And then you will inform the rest that they are needed down here, that Caroline has beseeched them to come," Klaus continued, and Caleb didn't like the malevolent look in the Hybrid's eyes. "Do this now or in three days once I've starved the vervain out of your system and forced you to do it. However if you do it of your own free will and I'll call off Salia from her current directive. Would you like to see?"

Klaus held out his cellphone. Caleb blanched at the video being displayed, showing his sisters sitting at the mall, laughing about something, neither noticing they were being followed. "It'd be such a shame if one had to watch the other die, don't you think?" Klaus asked, pulling the phone back. "I have ten minutes to call my girl back before she makes good on her mission. Try to warn any in your coven what is happening and I'll have Rebekah here-" He glanced over his shoulder as his sister entered the room, chatting with someone on the phone. "-order her to kill them both. How is Salia, dear sister?"

"Hating the mall," Rebekah answered, before laughing at something on the other end. "Hoping she gets to snack on one of them."

"Tick tock, Caleb," Klaus grinned, nodding toward the phone outlined in the boy's pocket. He clasped his hands behind his back, smiling smugly when Caleb hurriedly pulled out his phone. "Fantastic. So glad we could see eye to eye. Now, Patrick." His gaze moved to the other vampire, smile widening at the terror the man displayed. "I suggest you start coming up with reasons why I shouldn't rip out your heart again."

"I-I...I can tell you what the witches are really up to," Patrick stuttered, shaking with fear, and Caleb shut his eyes, mentally kicking himself for bothering to fill the vampire in on anything he had learned. So much for being a team player.

Klaus arched a brow at that, and motioned for Patrick to sit down on the broken couch as he sat down on the one chair that had remained untouched. "You may have your uses yet, old friend."

As Caleb started to contact the members of his coven, still listening into what Patrick told Klaus, and watching the self-satisfied smirk deepen on the Hybrid's face, he couldn't help but feel they were in way over their heads and the chances of them getting out were very, very slim.

* * *

Everything was fuzzy at first, her mind trying to replay exactly what had happened as she regained consciousness. It took her a moment to realize she was in a bed, which surprised her, knowing she hadn't been anywhere near a bed when Klaus had snapped her neck.  _Klaus._  Caroline's eyes narrowed at the thought of the damn Hybrid and his overprotective, manipulative nature. There was little doubt in her mind that he had thought snapping her neck would somehow protect her, but that didn't mean she had to like the fact he had done it. Just like when Tyler had vervained her the night of Homecoming might have been to protect her, but she had been livid with him as well.

She  _wasn't_  a victim. She could freaking protect herself. Why was that so hard for certain people in her life to understand? "Klaus!" she called out, not bothering to keep the anger out of her voice as she pushed herself up so she was sitting on the bed.

"Welcome back to the living." Glancing over to the side she spotted him sitting entirely too close to the bed in a chair, looking up at her from the sketch book he was focused on.

That earned him a pillow thrown right at his book, and she couldn't help but smirk as it messed up whatever he had been drawing.  _Serves him right._  "You freaking snapped my neck."

"I'm aware," Klaus muttered, closing the pad and dropping it down onto the bedside table. "You weren't giving me many options to work with. I did what had to be done."

_Seriously?!_  What the hell was it with people thinking that incapacitating her was the answer? That was  _never_  the answer. Caroline could feel her frustration with the situation growing, the lights in the room flickering in response to the anger that wanted to overwhelm her. For a moment she tried to calm down, to not lash out at him, but  _screw that_ , the bastard had snapped her neck. He deserved to be on the end of her anger.

Caroline threw the other pillow at him; followed by a lamp, the sketch pad, and whatever else she could get her hands on. Not caring as the lights in the room shattered, glass raining down on them as the overhead light exploded. "Now, sweetheart," Klaus started, catching the lamp and setting it down out of her reach.

"Don't you even  _think_  of freaking 'now sweethearting' me. You  _snapped my neck_." There wasn't anything else to throw so she struck at him with her fists, trying to wipe that damn smirk off of his face.

"And as I said you were leaving me little choice," Klaus reminded, easily blocking her move and catching her wrists to try and stop her squirming. When he was standing close enough, Caroline bashed her head into his own, causing him to let go of her and actually stumble back a foot or two.

"Were you under the impression that this would suddenly be all sunshine and rainbows when I woke up because  _newsflash:_  I don't take kindly to people incapacitating me. Ask Tyler what happened after he vervained me at Homecoming." It was her turn to smirk before she glared at him, hands still clenched into fists and poised ready to strike him again if she had to. "Oh  _right._  I freaking broke up with him."

Wait no. That was not where she wanted the conversation to head. "So what? Am I your prisoner now? Because nice as this room is, it's still a damn prison cell if that's the case."

Klaus wiped the blood from his nose, sighing in exasperation. He had known she wouldn't react well to what he had done, but he hadn't quite expected her to react so violently. It would probably be best if he didn't make a comment about her anger making him think fairly indecent thoughts about her. Ones that involved using that rage for much more entertaining interactions. "You're not my prisoner."

He really shouldn't have been surprised when she flashed toward the door at that knowledge, but he easily grabbed her around the waist, trying to propel her away from her destination. Klaus didn't expect her to use the momentum to try and throw him off of her, causing him to stumble and smash the two of them into the wall. "Now really, Caroline," he started again, narrowing his eyes as she tried to elbow him in the stomach. He caught her arms again, slamming them against the wall so she couldn't use them against him anymore, trapping them there with his own. " _Enough._ "

Caroline narrowed her eyes, chest heaving as adrenaline coursed through her body. "Let me go." She tried to kick him, to knee him,  _anything_  to get him away from her, but he was standing too close for her to get any kind of movement.

"I said enough," Klaus growled, his eyes turning more gold than usual, that Hybrid nature revealing itself in his anger.

Caroline snapped at him, flashing teeth as she refused to be scared or back down. "So what? You're going to keep on snapping my neck? Or what  _bite me_? Shall we go down that road again? Because  _I do not care._  I am not one of your goddamn lackeys to order the hell around and  _I never will be_." Not by choice. There was probably little she could do if he drained the vervain from her body and compelled her to be compliant, but she was fairly certain he enjoyed her spirit and wouldn't do that.

Not yet anyway.

He relinquished his hold on her, but didn't step backward, his body blocking her in even if he was no longer touching her. "Of course you're not. You haven't been for quite some time." Not since that night he had offered her life instead of death and she had willingly taken it. He reached up to touch her hair and Caroline smacked his hand away, not in the mood for their little dance.

"I'm not a prisoner but I can't leave. You realize how little sense that makes, don't you?" she demanded, pressing her hands against his chest to try and put a little more distance between them.

"You can leave if you're accompanied by myself or one of my siblings until the rest of the reinforcements arrive." He had the audacity to smile down at her, trying to touch her hair again, but she shifted her head, still glaring at him. "Then you'll have more leeway to go as you please."

It didn't make sense to Caroline. She was the Harbinger. If Klaus had his one witchy friend watching out for her mother then what did it matter if she walked freely around New Orleans? She also realized that it was a losing battle to keep arguing with him about it for the moment and decided getting as much information as possible out of him was probably a better course of action.

"Reinforcements? What, did you manipulate some people into actually working with you since we both know no one willingly does that?" Maybe it was a low blow, and not an entirely true one, but she didn't care. She was feeling antagonistic and lambasting him felt good if she ignored the uncomfortable feeling brewing in her stomach.

Klaus glowered at her, leaning forward so that his face was mere inches from hers. "I'm going to ignore your apparent need to bait me right now considering I know how much you despise feeling out of control." And by snapping her neck, not allowing her to leave, he had done just that. Taken away some of the control that Caroline Forbes desperately needed in regards to her own life. "Your little friend Caleb has been gracious enough to call in members of his coven to help protect your mother as well as assist with matters down here. Not that I expected much resistance from them. After all, they are beholden to you and will go wherever you may need them." He couldn't help but grin at her confusion, allowing himself to slide a strand of her hair between his fingers while she was distracted. "Seems someone has been missing out on her Harbinger lessons."

Caroline stomped on his foot at that, pushing away his hand again before darting out so she could escape being trapped against the wall by him. She raked her hands through her hair, annoyed that he had not only latched onto her lack of control but also her nearly complete lack of knowledge at what she had become. " _You know_ , instead of being a gigantic ass maybe you could fill in the gaps about what my new status or whatever is. But  _noooo_ , you're being your usual smug, annoying self," she spat out, sitting down on the chair he had vacated. She crossed her arms, not caring at all that she was sulking and probably looked the part of a petulant teenager.

"How about a trade? I'll inform you of what I know and you'll agree to the rules I set forth concerning your safety," Klaus offered, watching her and god, she wished she had something else to throw at him.

She gave him her best 'you have lost your fucking mind' look. He had to know there was no way in hell she would agree to something like that. "If you're telling me then I'm not currently trying to make a getaway. So, tell me, don't. But if I'm intent on listening to you then we don't have to go for round two of 'Caroline tries to escape' today."

"I quite enjoyed that little dance of ours," Klaus told her, and the predatory look he directed at her made her shiver and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Caroline kept her 'bitch please' look plastered on her face, arms still crossed as she stared back at him. She wasn't dignifying that with an answer even if he looked more satisfied at her lack of response. He sat down on the edge of the bed, angling himself so he was facing her. "What would you like to know, sweetheart?"

Caroline despised that question. Where did she even start? She didn't know what she was missing. Every time she thought maybe she had an inkling of what was happening the rug was pulled out from under her and a whole other subsection was opened up. "Do you have to be so damn smug that you know more than me?" she growled, knowing that her question wasn't helping any.

She especially didn't like when he shifted forward, hands sliding along the arms of her chair as he leaned over her body. "Oh the things I could teach you," he murmured, and Caroline remembered his comment to her before he had snapped her neck.  _I really think it's time you stopped pretending all we are is just friends._

"No thanks," she scoffed and tried to sound bored, rolling her eyes at him so she could pass off the shiver his words and the memory sent along her spine. The damn  _DANGER_  sign was flashing in her mind again and she was not about to be pulled down Klaus' rabbit hole. No matter how enticing he made it sound.

"The battle sounds have stopped," Rebekah called out as she opened the door. Caroline shifted her focus to the other Original, trying to ignore the fact that Klaus hadn't moved from his position. "So I take it that means we can enter and find you both with your clothes on?"

Caroline glared at her, deciding the whole damn Original family delighted in pushing her buttons and making her feel uncomfortable in their own unique ways. "Or have we not gotten to that part yet?" Rebekah continued, arching a brow at the two as she paid no mind to the look Caroline directed her way. "Would you like me to tell the witch to wait a few more minutes? He's been dreadfully boring company."

Caleb appeared in the doorway, looking cautiously around the room. His expression softened to relief as he saw Caroline before darkening to distrust as he looked at Klaus. There was something else that Caroline couldn't quite decipher in his gaze and she made a mental reminder to talk to him in private later. "Move," she demanded, trying to shove Klaus out of the way so she could make sure her friend was okay.

Sure she had been livid that he had kept things from her, but between the chaos from earlier and her battle with Klaus, Caroline had forgiven the boy. He was as new to the whole game as she was and while maybe she didn't trust him to the degree she would have Bonnie, she had come to care about him in the last few weeks.

Thankfully, Klaus stepped to the side, letting her head to her friend who she pulled into a tight hug. She was pleased when Caleb returned the gesture, no doubt having been worried about her own well-being. "Is Patrick okay?" she asked, not bothering to lower her voice. It wasn't as though the other two wouldn't be able to hear anyway.

"I kinda told him all about the witches when we were waiting for you to return," Caleb murmured, running a ragged hand against his forehead. "And then he kinda told Klaus in exchange for his life. Though he's downstairs waiting to see that you're okay as well. He refused to leave without you."

Caroline exhaled at that, not surprised by the turn of events. Loyalty or not, she knew the other vampire would have done whatever he had to in order to survive. She couldn't blame him for that, not when she knew how Klaus extracted his own brand of revenge. It did give her an idea though.

"You want to make a deal, right? So that I don't go running off and I follow your 'safety rules' for me?" she asked, turning around on her heel to face the two Originals. Rebekah was watching her carefully, no doubt trying to assess what Caroline's next move would be. Klaus simply looked mildly amused.

"I'm willing to broker a deal with you if it satisfies my terms," Klaus told her, waving for her to continue.

"You leave Caleb alone. You do not use him in your plots. You do not use his family, his friends to get anything from him. He may come and go as he pleases and not you, nor anyone in your family, or your pawns or anyone who works for you can do anything to hurt him.  _Anything._ " She replayed her words in her mind, trying to see if she had left any loopholes.

Klaus didn't look happy with the idea as he sat down in the chair she had vacated, mulling it over. "If I agree to do nothing to harm the boy in any way, physical or psychological from this point forward, then you shall agree to follow through on my plans to keep you safe."

Caroline shook her head, crossing her arms as looked down at him. Maybe he looked like a king on a throne with the way he held himself as he sat, but she had no problem trying to knock off his damn crown if she saw fit. "I'm sorry, do you think I'm stupid enough to actually agree to something so widespread? State your  _exact_  terms."

Did Rebekah snort in amusement? Caroline glanced her way, but the other Original was inspecting her nails and looking extremely bored. However, Caroline noted the small smile on the other girl's face.

"I will agree to cause no physical or psychological harm to the boy from this moment onward if you agree to remain accompanied by myself, a member of my family or a member of the Leseid Coven until Marcel has been dealt with," Klaus stated, and while Caroline had found Rebekah's smile amusing, she could only roll her eyes at his.

"Deal." Wait.  _From this moment onward?_  "What the hell did you-" Ugh, she couldn't even look at him and whirled around to look at Caleb. "What did he do?" The witch didn't look as though he had been harmed, but she remembered the earlier look he had directed at the Hybrid and Caroline just  _knew_  something had happened.

"Let's just say Klaus made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Caleb replied, and from the steely look he directed at her she knew she wouldn't get more of an answer at the moment.

She couldn't help but grimace at the statement, turning back to Klaus and shaking her head in disgust at him. The Hybrid simply raised his shoulders, clearly nonplussed by his own behavior. "I believe we were in the middle of a discussion before we were so rudely interrupted," he reminded, steering the conversation back to the course he wanted it on. Focusing on his past deeds would do nothing to help square away what Caroline needed to know here and now.

"He was right anyway," Caleb bit out, surprising all of them in the room. The boy didn't look at any of them as he continued, glowering at the broken shards of glass on the ground. "You need the coven here. They'll be able to help you, to strengthen you like the...you know. They just will and we are so in over our heads, Caroline." He looked at her then and she saw the truth in what he was telling her. "They have Marie Laveau on their side. Okay, so she probably has no clue that's who she sort of is, but by herself she's already a powerhouse. Put all of the strength of the New Orleans witches behind all that power and she's virtually unstoppable."

Caroline sagged down onto the bed, staring down at her hands. "Still not seeing how my light and shadow deal is going to help with any of that," she muttered, feeling more lost than ever.

"Is that all you think you can do?" Rebekah asked as she sat down on the arm of Klaus' chair. "You'll have to master it, but you have what the Greeks called the power of charm. An ability to talk people into seeing your way and doing what you please once you have them in your thrall. And to do that, all you need to do is have brought them back from death. Though I believe you can be rather persuasive without having them in your thrall. They simply have the ability to refuse you, unlike ones you've saved."

Caroline stared at her in disbelief. "So, I basically sire bond anyone I use my shadow mumbo-jumbo on to a ridiculous degree is what you're saying?" Suddenly everything with Patrick made sense.

"Comes in handy, doesn't it?" Klaus murmured, looking entirely too pleased with himself again, and Caroline glowered at him, wishing she hadn't already thrown everything on the bed at him.

"Unlike my brother, Caroline, who used such a gift for selfish purposes," Rebekah started, easily moving out of Klaus' reach. "The Harbinger does so to restore balance. Sometimes they need to infiltrate the enemy group, the ones bringing about disharmony, in order to put all the pieces back together."

"Right." She supposed that made sense, even if she didn't like the idea of people following her because they were under her thrall. "Which brings me back to why I am here. It's to restore _balance_. Not to help you out." Caroline stared at Klaus then. "Just because we're...friends…" Yep, still clutching tightly onto that term. "Doesn't mean I'm helping you with anything."

"The city was in perfect balance back when we were in charge of it nearly one hundred years ago, love," Klaus pointed out, and Rebekah nodded, acknowledging that was true. And even from what she had heard from the witches Caroline knew he was telling the truth. The disturbance hadn't started until after the Originals had fled.

Change of subject was needed.

"What happened with my...with Valencia?" It was still hard to call the woman her great grandmother considering Caroline truly hadn't known her.

"She was a lying, traitorous bitch," Rebekah growled, eyes flashing black in her anger. Klaus rose at that, his expression hardening as he motioned for Caroline to rise.

"Why don't we go for a walk, love, and I'll tell you all about that woman's rise and fall," he suggested, and Caroline chewed on her bottom lip before glancing over at Caleb. She needed to know he was okay with it, and while the worry in his eyes clearly reflected that he didn't like the idea, he nodded for her to go. Mouthing a silent 'I'll be fine' at her.

"Unless you'd rather stay inside and have the conversation here," Klaus continued, and Caroline glared at him. He knew she wouldn't want to be inside if she could help it.

"Fine." She wanted answers and a chance to get out of the house that seemed to be closing in around her with every passing minute.

"Rebekah, be a dear, and call Jacque to come and fix the room," Klaus ordered, holding the door open for Caroline as he offered her his arm.

She rolled her eyes at the gesture, walking right past him and refusing the contact. She was still furious at what he had done to her and whatever he had done to Caleb so there was no way she was linking her arm with his. "Let's just get this over with," she grumbled, waiting for him to exit the room so he could show her the way out of the house.

The brilliant smile he directed at her as he passed by only further infuriated her and she followed after him, fully aware that he was going to be pushing every single one of her buttons on this outing. Caroline was simply going to ignore the fact that thought thrilled her a little.

As they headed down the stairs, Caroline saw Patrick sitting on the couch in the newly furnished living room. It looked exactly as it had before Klaus had made a mess of it aside from the vampire cautiously looking between her and Klaus. "You okay?" she asked, not bothering to try and keep her voice low. They all knew Klaus had better hearing than all of them.

Patrick nodded, averting his gaze from her and she could see the telltale signs of guilt. She didn't blame him, how could she? He had just wanted a chance to keep on living. "Patrick, I need you to look out for Caleb for me, okay?" she started, and Patrick looked back at her, nodding his assent. She also knew she wanted him to be okay though, for them both to have a chance to live even if her life had become a gigantic mess. "If you think he or you are in any danger, I want you to get the two of you out of town and don't look back."

" _Caroline,_ " Klaus growled, clearly not liking what she had said. He grabbed hold of her elbow and she tried to yank her arm away from him, but he only gripped her harder. "Let's go."

Caroline glanced back at the other vampire one last time, pleased to see some hope back in his eyes before she was wrenched from his sight. "You do realize you practically got rid of one of the best means for guarding you," Klaus snapped, guiding her down the stairs and out of the house. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"He's  _my_...minion. I get to decide how I treat them and what they do for me," she shrugged, closing her eyes briefly as she felt the sun on her skin again. It wasn't as though she had been inside for that long, but just the thought of not feeling it for any length of time had made her anxious. "You sire any more hybrids and you can choose how you treat them. I guess it's too much to hope you'd have learned treating them as your personal slaves helps incite mutiny, hmm?"

She flashed him her most insincere smile, surprised to find him actually smiling over at her. Caroline had expected annoyance, possibly rage. After all she was baiting him again, but he had enjoyed something that she had said and she couldn't figure out what it was. He shifted his grip, making it so his arm was linked with hers instead of gripping her elbow. "Let's get going, shall we? I know the perfect place for us to have our little discussion," he murmured, looking away from her and out at the street they were heading down.

Caroline frowned, nearly pulling away from his grip, not liking how natural it felt, but the uneasiness that she had been feeling ever since arriving in New Orleans was beginning to latch onto her again. Klaus' arm holding onto her own was helping to ground her in reality and as she glanced around the street, trying to find the source creating the feeling, she tightened her grip on him. She tried to shake the feeling off, knowing she needed to learn as much about herself as she could now and the man walking with her was always a wealth of knowledge. Caroline suspected that he knew more than he had said already and she meant to get every last bit of information out of him before the day was over.

* * *

The world seem to disappear around Davina whenever she started to paint. All that mattered was getting the picture from her head onto the canvas. Eating, sleeping, everything else was pushed aside, a waste of time until the product was finished. Her hands were sore, feet barely keeping her upright when the brush finally fell from her hand and she sagged down onto the ground to stare up at the painting. She didn't know what it meant, the girl with the golden halo whose face couldn't be recreated. That was always the hard part. She could never quite make out the faces of their enemies, only their bodies, and the presence that radiated off of them.

And that's who she painted, over and over again, on countless canvases housed in every corner of her attic. The enemies of Marcel.  _Of her._  For that is what her savior told her they were, and it coincided with the panic that stirred inside of her whenever she received a new vision of one of them. Witches who broke the law, ordinary citizens who did the same. The Originals coming to town, the girl carrying something dark inside of her, and now this one.

There was something different about this one though, with her halo of hair, the sun and moon whirling around her as she was dipped in blood. An angel and a demon all rolled into one and the mere presence of the painting terrified Davina like nothing else she had painted. She wanted to get rid of it, to rip the material before her to shreds, to destroy any presence of the creature from existing.

Davina grabbed the still drying canvas from the easel, intent on tearing it up when Marcel walked in, arching a brow as he took her in. His curiosity turned quickly to worry as he noted her frazzled appearance, reminding him too much a caged animal for his liking. "What is it?" he demanded, though his voice was soft as he attempted to not antagonize the girl further. "Has someone broken another rule?"

That was why he had ventured up to the attic, even though he had a million other concerns to deal with. Such as his rogue nightwalkers who were causing more harm than good. They would need to be dealt with and he was quickly not caring which were behind the disasters and considering simply wiping out the lot of them and starting anew. The current caretaker had told him that Davina was painting again though and he knew what that meant, and had hoped she would be able to reveal who the traitors in his midst were, but from how on edge she was Marcel had a feeling this was something different.

"Let me see," he urged, running a soothing hand down the girl's back as he lifted the painting from her hands.

Davina's hands were stained with red paint and she slunk down to the floor again, ignoring Marcel as another flash of imagery hit her, demanding to be shown. Marcel focused on the painting, trying to understand what it was the girl had painted this time. Usually darkness surrounded the people, a telltale sign that they were enemies to him and his kingdom, but this creature was bathed in light and dark, and he wasn't sure what that meant. For a brief moment he wondered if the woman in the painting was Camille because of the hair, but something told him this was a new player he hadn't quite discovered yet.

"Why don't we get you cleaned…" Marcel trailed off, staring down at Davina who was finishing up the symbol on the floor. His eyes narrowed as he took in the symbol of Freyja, reminded instantly of Valencia, that Harbinger who had accidentally set everything in motion with a little help from him nearly one hundred years ago.

"Isn't this an interesting turn of events," he murmured, glancing back at the painting.  _Where oh where might you be, my pretty little girl?_  And how would he manipulate this one to do his bidding as well? He set the painting down and helped Davina to her feet. "Rest, child, for you and I have quite a bit of business to attend to once you've regained your strength."

Davina twisted in his grasp, lashing out at the painting, ripping some of the canvas from its binding. "She'll ruin everything," she hissed, staring down at the red paint on her hands as Marcel guided her away from her artwork.

"She will never get the chance to," Marcel promised, calling out for the caretaker to come and help him with the girl. Once Davina was taken care of, he would start sending out feelers for his crew to start looking for a newcomer with golden hair. He remembered the one Rebekah had with her, the old friend from high school, and decided it couldn't hurt to learn a little bit more about the little vampire who knew Bennett witches and Originals.

* * *

"Did you seriously need to compel them to cancel the boat tour for  _everyone else?_ " Caroline shook her head, trying to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the Hybrid who stood beside her on the boat's deck. She was trying to enjoy the fact that they were on a riverboat cruise, but it was hard to do when she was highly irritated with the man beside her and everything he did seemed to only infuriate her more.

"Considering what we're going to need to discuss, yes," Klaus told her, leaning against the nearest pole as he watched Caroline take in the city as the boat began to disembark. "Our enemy has several locals working for him and the last thing we need is to be overheard. He currently has no clue who you are or what you have become and I would like to keep it that way for as long as possible."

Klaus had compelled the captain and his crew on his first day back in New Orleans, knowing it never hurt to have a place he could use for private discussions outside of his home. Even if Marcel tried to compel them into giving information they would be unable to do so. Any attempt on his old friend's part would result in them using whatever means necessary to kill themselves over giving up information. Perhaps it was a bit monstrous, but they were in the middle of a war and collateral damage was par for the course.

"Technically any of these guys could be working for him," Caroline pointed out, waving toward the wait staff who was inside the dining room setting up the lunch buffet. "So you know, way to go, Mr. Paranoid."

"They work for me." Klaus simply smiled as she rolled her eyes. At least she had gone back to that instead of purposefully walking away from him when she was annoyed. "Shall we eat?" Caroline pursed her lips at that, wondering which method of eating he was referring to. "Actual food, Caroline. I believe they're setting out our meal as we speak."

"No, they're setting out the meal that was for like the two hundred people you just ruined vacation plans for," she sulked, looking back out at the water. "I bet they saved like every penny to go on this cruise and their dreams have been squashed. Plus the cruise is going to take a nose dive in profit because they're gonna be out all of those people's money. So you just ruined a whole bunch of lives."

Klaus stared at her, unsure if he should be feeling exasperated or amused. The smile tugging at his lips meant latter was winning out. "Would it help if I compensated the cruise for all of their lost profit?" he asked, clearly bemused.

Caroline contemplated that for a moment. "Yes." There was probably nothing that could be done to make up for the ones who had missed out on their cruise, but at least this way everyone would be getting their money back. She glanced over at Klaus, unsurprised by his amusement and turned on her heel, heading toward the dining area. "Let's eat."

Klaus cut her off, opening the door for her and Caroline swore that if she rolled her eyes one more time at his antics her eyes were going to stick like that. There was no one else that irritated her as much as this man did at times. Even his gentlemanly gestures were getting on her nerves and she couldn't figure out why the hell it was annoying her so much. Sure, she usually scoffed at him when he gave her a compliment, but that had mellowed out in recent months, and she had slowly come to accept that it was all just part of their constant struggle. Just one of the steps in the game the two of them were constantly tugging back and forth in.

Maybe that was the problem because somewhere along the way the rules of the game had altered and Caroline had no clue when it had happened or even what they were any longer. It scared her and thrilled her at the same time. The fact that it even thrilled her at all added to her fear, her need to pull away, too try and rebuild the walls around herself that he had somehow chipped away at when she hadn't been paying attention. And after what he had done to Patrick, to Caleb, didn't she owe it to the two of them to steadfastly fight off whatever Klaus threw at her.

Caroline was just going to ignore her own inner desires. Clearly when he had snapped her neck he had also loosened a few screws because she wasn't supposed to enjoy the feeling of her arm in his own, the way his breath brushed against her cheek when he stood too close to her. She needed to keep her distance until she got her head back on straight.

"We're not doing the buffet?" she asked, surprised that Klaus was bypassing the set up food and heading toward the spiral staircase instead.

"Private dining, Caroline," he informed her, motioning for her to follow. While part of the reason he had picked the boat as the place for their discussion was privacy from Marcel's spies, Klaus had also wanted an opportunity to give Caroline a glimpse into the life she could have, the one he believed she deserved, that only he could give to her.

"Oh of course," she muttered, and he could hear the curiosity in her voice despite her mocking. "The other people could have enjoyed their cruise then if we were always going to have our own space."

"There would still have been a chance for spying ears and I am not one to take risks like that if not needed," Klaus pointed out, nodding toward the lone table on the outer deck. "Shall we?"

He held out his arm to her and Caroline hesitated, nearly taking it, before she walked past him to seat herself. She tried not to react to his chuckle and it seemed not taking his arm didn't stop him from getting ridiculously close to her as he pulled out the chair when she went to sit down. "Has anyone told you how stunning you look when you're being ridiculously stubborn?" His breath tickled her ear as he spoke, and she had a feeling he had noticed the shiver that ran down her spine.

"Go sit in your own seat," she groused, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she tried to ignore him once again. He did as he was told and Caroline simply glared at his self-satisfied smile as he sat down across from her.

"I hope you don't mind that I already put in our order," Klaus informed her, and Caroline scoffed, knowing full well that he didn't care if she did mind or not. "I wanted you to be able to try some authentic New Orleans dishes. Perhaps enjoy some of the music as well if time permits." He nodded toward the jazz band that was warming up on the other side of the deck.

Caroline narrowed her eyes. Dinner. Music. And now the waiter was bringing out wine and pouring it into their glasses. "This is  _not_  a date."

"Of course not, sweetheart." Klaus lifted a brow at her as he picked up his glass, and she was half tempted to throw her own in his face because of his smirk as he took a sip. "Now down to business. I'd ask what it was you would like to know, but from our earlier discussion I'm going to assume that you know next to nothing about what you have become or what you're to do here. Am I right?"

She nodded, not liking that he was right. Everyone kept telling her bits and pieces and each time she thought she knew what was happening it seemed like a new piece of the puzzle was brought to light and she had to start all over again. "Yeah, but just know that I'm taking everything you that you say with a grain of salt. You have your own agenda as well." Just like everyone else really.

"Perhaps, but my agenda does include you living forever and seeing your dreams become reality. Can you say the same for the others?" Klaus asked and Caroline couldn't look at him then, overwhelmed by his admission.

It wasn't exactly a surprise, but it still startled her at times to hear him speak as though he truly cared. She wondered if she heard it enough times would she start to believe it? But wasn't that the real lie? Because she already did believe it, that he did actually love her. Denial was just easier to cling to for the moment.

"How do you know about Harbingers?" she asked, needing to get the conversation back on track. Obviously there was her great grandmother, but for some reason she doubted Valencia was the first Harbinger Klaus had ever met.

"I met my first in 1328. Rebekah and I were enjoying our time in Bulgaria, moving from the current encounter with my father. Elijah and Kol were to meet up with us in a couple of months, each of us providing false leads for him to follow so we could have a few years of peace again. There are a number of beautiful forests in Bulgaria still-I think you might enjoy the waterfalls and Magura cave system-but back then werewolves ruled much of the country." He paused as the waiter returned with their appetizers, leaving behind the bottle of as well. "There are still some packs there, though they do not have the same level of status that they held back then. In 1328 there was some trouble with the local witches and an imbalance in the natural world occurred. It happens every so often, though usually not between witches and wolves."

Caroline nodded, leaning forward a little as she listened to him. No matter what, Klaus had always been able to tell a good story, playing on her need for knowledge. "Her name was Lila, the Harbinger of that time and I watched as she dispelled the witches from the place, light seeping from her fingers into each of them as she spoke to them. None of them reacted to what she was doing, too enraptured by her words. Their lot were dead within two minutes of her having done so and it was about then that she noticed Rebekah and I watching from the ridge of the hill. Apparently they had been turned to dark magic and were sacrificing wolves and others for their spells so she sacrificed their lives to cleanse the land." He raised his glass to her. "Rather fitting end."

She stared down at the shrimp salad, not sure how to even react to that story. Is that what she was going to do? Pick who would die? "And she let you just walk away?"

"We had done nothing to disrupt the balance of nature aside from being alive and Harbingers are not allowed to try and change that status quo. Different magic and all," Klaus informed her, watching her expression change with each new thing he revealed. "I didn't know what she was then though. It wasn't until the 1600s in Spain that we learned what a Harbinger was. Rebekah had a dalliance with one of the members of the Leseid Coven and we were suddenly privy to the rest learning what we needed. Seems they didn't know of the powers of vervain until after that little interlude."

"And what's the rest of it?" Caroline asked, steeling herself for the answer.

"The one at that time went against the balance of nature, let the power go to her head and nearly destroyed all of us. There is a curse the Leseid Coven has that forces a Harbinger to immediately leave an area and never be able to return. It's what I used on Valencia after she betrayed her own oath." He leaned back in his chair, studying Caroline carefully. "Ødeleggeren av fred bort disse shores og aldri komme tilbake."

Caroline stared at him. Was something supposed to have happened? And what the hell language was that anyway? "It roughly translates to 'destroyer of peace depart these shores and never return'," Klaus informed her, leaning forward then. "It matters little if one says the words unless the Harbinger has betrayed her cause and helps an imbalance to take over. Then the words have power and nothing can keep the Harbinger from remaining in the area once it's been uttered."

"That's why she didn't have her amulet. Why she never returned to New Orleans," Caroline murmured, frowning as she wondered what the hell her grandmother had done.

"Correct." She watched as Klaus' eyes darkened in anger, narrowing slightly as he remembered the betrayal she still knew nothing about. He shook his head, clearing it as he looked back at her. "And we'll get to what exactly she did in a moment, but for now let's focus on what you can do. You've mastered releasing the shadow or Patrick would not be alive." Caroline just nodded. "And I've seen sparks of the light when you're angry enough, but I'm going to guess it only comes about during your fury?"

"Yeah, I can't seem to get it to appear any other time. And believe me I've tried." Caroline wasn't sure if that was a failing or not. She figured it must have been.

"Don't," Klaus warned, grasping her hand across the table. "Keep it to fear, anger only. It means you are not abusing it. When the time comes that you need to use it without fear or anger guiding you it'll come. Do not try to force it. That's what Amara, the one in Spain did, and she was destroyed because of it."

"Destroyed? But you said she was like banished…" And how did anyone even destroy her? Wasn't she supposed to be sort of invincible?

"After they removed her from the city, the coven brought another from her line, a second cousin if I remember correctly, and forced the transfer of power from her to the girl," Klaus grip on her hand tightened for a moment before his thumb brushed against her skin, starting a steady caress. "It nearly killed both of them considering the other girl was never meant to become the Harbinger, but the next destined in line was only three at the time. It put the other girl into a coma and she was taken care of by the coven until the next in line was at an age to take over."

Caroline forced herself to take deep breaths so she didn't start freaking out. She was pretty sure she should have been freaking out. She  _wanted_ to freak out, but the breathing technique and Klaus' caress were helping her remain calm. "Why didn't they do that to Valencia then?"

Because shouldn't her great grandmother have met the same fate?

"I wondered that for decades, but I believe I know the reason now. Or at least part of it." Klaus paused, nodding toward the plate in front of her as he reluctantly released her hand. "Valencia had no relatives. Her line would have ended with her." At Caroline's curious look he shrugged. "After her betrayal I may have tried to hunt down her family to eradicate them from the Earth."

"Of course you did," Caroline replied, but there was no bite to her statement this time as she picked up her glass. "Still not really getting the reason though."

"She must have been pregnant at the time when she was banished. It would explain how her line suddenly reappeared and how you exist, sweetheart." It wouldn't have surprised Klaus either if the woman had picked Mystic Falls for her new family knowing Klaus purposefully kept his distance from the small town and would continue to do so until he could break his curse. Something she would have had no way of knowing would eventually happen.

"But then why didn't they kill her after she gave birth?" Or at least after her grandmother had been born? "Oh. Right. Because if my grandmother wasn't the next in line it would have incapacitated her and there would be no one to continue on the legacy. Doesn't really explain why they didn't do her in after I was older."

"They had to wait until you were of legal age. Can't exactly have a thirteen year old whisking around the world setting things right in this day and age. An eighteen year old would be more than able to," Klaus pointed out, nudging the metal pitcher toward her. "Try the sauce. It really brings out the flavor."

Caroline nodded. It did make sense. Especially with all that the others had told her about Valencia waiting to pass the gift onto her and the worry when they had all learned she had become a vampire. "What did she do? Valencia? What did she do to cause her to be banished and for you to hate her so?"

Because she could tell he did. It was in the way his eyes narrowed every time he said the woman's name. The stiffness of his jaw when he spoke of her and Caroline needed to know what happened nearly one hundred years ago to incite such reaction from Klaus.

"New Orleans was in relative peace back then. Oh we had our little squabbles here and there, having so many witches, vampires, and werewolves in one city will do that, but nothing that threatened to destroy the harmony in the city." He leaned back in the chair again, looking off into the distance as he recounted the story. "Valencia was known amongst all of us and she had acquired herself a lover. No doubt your great grandfather. Unfortunately, the man was turned into a vampire. We never quite determined who had done it and while that had angered her, she accepted that he was at least still among the living and able to move around, even if only at night."

"No one would make him a ring so he could move about in the daytime?" Surely one of the witches would have done that if the Harbinger requested it? Or was that abusing her power? Caroline bit her bottom lip, unsure.

"Witches don't tend to give them out to just any vampire, Caroline. Most want nothing to do with our kind. I'm sure you've noticed a bit of animosity from ones who are not your best friend?" Klaus replied, arching a brow in amusement at her. "They can be won over in time or with promises of an increase in power, but generally, they want little do with us if they are in an actual coven. Nasty little thing those groups. Delighting in perpetuating rumors about our species."

"Um, yeah, most of those rumors about you are the truth, so can't say I really blame them," Caroline pointed out, unable to keep from smiling herself. "But anyway, so no daylight ring for him and he was a vampire. Not the end of the world. Humans and vampires can have relationships. And she was a Harbinger so, you know, living longer than a human anyway."

"He became something close to a ripper, though uncontrollable, and had to be put down." Klaus shrugged. "It happens every so often. Usually I have no qualms letting them run free, they're quite entertaining, but when trying to maintain a low profile, they become a danger to all involved."

Caroline could only imagine how that might have enraged Valencia. "Who killed him?" she asked, wondering if she really wanted to know the answer.

"Elijah. The witches were spoken to at first to see if they could come up with a way to incapacitate him. No one wanted to face Valencia's wrath, but there was little any of us could do when they came up empty." Klaus picked up his glass again, taking another sip. "That matters little. What does matter is she was there when Mikael found us. When he lit fire to the house and had us running for our lives. I didn't know for sure if she had been the one to bring him to New Orleans, to lead him our way, but I yelled out the curse just in case I was correct in my assessment."

Caroline watched his gaze darken over again, a chill running down her spine at the heaviness of it. "And she was immediately propelled backwards, the horror in her eyes confirming my suspicions. I would have gone for her then, but she started sparking white light out of her and I wasn't about to chance her being able to kill me." Klaus placed his glass back down. "But enough talk of that. I believe you're more informed now than you had been so let us enjoy our meal. Unless you would rather hurry back to the house instead of being out in the fresh air and sunlight."

She pursed her lips at that. He knew exactly how to entice her into staying and while she should have demanded they returned back to the townhouse, Caroline didn't relish the idea of being sequestered inside again. It couldn't really hurt to enjoy his company for another hour or so, could it? It'd give her time to mull over everything he said plus there was no point in wasting the food.

"Shut up and eat," she murmured, ignoring his pleased expression as he dug into his own appetizer.

* * *

Three hours later and they were walking back toward the townhouse. Caroline wasn't sure exactly how they had managed to spend three hours eating and talking-also listening to the Jazz band play, but that had come toward the end and couldn't have taken up that much time, right? But when the boat docked at the pier, Caroline had glanced at the clock, eyes widening when she realized how much time they had spent together.

She also was coming to realize that the two of them were both laughing, smiling. And not that self-satisfied smirk that Klaus so often wore, but the laughing one he had showed her back at the pageant when he had taken her Miss Mystic application out of his pocket. Klaus grasped her hand, tugging her back toward the Quarter, pointing out this piece of architecture and that shop as they walked, and Caroline felt herself relaxing in his company. Watching the excitement, the happiness in his expression as he told shared with her the stories of his past.

When he was like this, it was hard for her to picture the man who threatened her friends, who killed Tyler's mother, all of those Hybrids, Jenna. He was just a man enjoying time with the woman that he clearly had feelings for. She could feel it in the way he touched her back as he led her through crowds, see it in his eyes as he glanced over at her. Usually it would have sent her pulling away from, running in the other direction, but for some reason she was doing neither.

Instead she leaned into his touch, laughing at what he said, and intently listened to his stories. It was still there though, everything he had done, everything that kept her steadfastly ignoring what was constantly brewing between them. She would never forget all that had happened in Mystic Falls.

"I can see why you do love it here," she murmured as they stopped to listen to a band on the street strike up a song.

His arm encircled her waist as he stood behind her, leaning forward so his lips brushed her ears. Now would be the perfect time to elbow him for getting too close, but instead Caroline simply smiled, ignoring the warning bells that were firing off in her head. "Do you see why I want it back? Why I cannot allow the Imposter King to remain in control?" he asked, and just like that the spell was broken.

Caroline broke away from him, glaring at him. Was he trying to manipulate her to his side? She didn't see any hint of the calculating face he usually had when that was the case though. Instead he looked down at her in confusion, clearly unsure why she had moved away. "Will it make you happy in the end? To rule this place, your own little kingdom. Did it make you happy back then?" Because from what she had known of his life, his happiness had been pretty fleeting no matter where the Originals had resided.

"Happier than anywhere else," he told her, the truth coming out in his voice. Klaus looked down at her with that look that made her knees weak and insides clench with need. "It was missing something though."

_Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask._  "What?" Damn it, Caroline.

His smile let her know she wouldn't like his answer before he spoke it. "A queen."

Caroline rolled her eyes, a clear defense mechanism from actually giving any credence to his answer. Thankfully she spotted Sophie and Claire in the distance, the younger witch nodding for her to follow before disappearing into the shadows. "We're being summoned," Caroline informed him, nodding toward the two witches.

Klaus bristled at the audacity of the two women. "I've half a mind to ignore them." Though, considering they had sought out their attention within in sight of at least four of Marcel's nightwalkers, Klaus supposed it wouldn't hurt to see what the women wanted. "Shall we?"

He steered Caroline in the direction the witches had gone, not taking hold of her hand this time but keeping close to her as they walked. "Can you sense the others in the crowd?" he asked her as they moved.

Caroline blinked, unsure what he was talking about for a moment. She focused her senses, listening for the telltale signs of a vampire being nearby and nodded. "The trombone player for one. And the girls hanging out in the doorway to our right. Also someone in the crowd to the left but I can't figure out which one."

"Red shirt, black jeans," Klaus informed her as they exited the street and headed toward the cemetery. Sophie was standing at the border to it. "Either we're both invited in or neither of us are going." He did grasp hold of Caroline's elbow then, keeping her in place beside him.

"I don't actually need an invite," Caroline informed him with a shrug. He arched a brow at that, but didn't release his hold.

"Come in," Sophie invited, though they could both tell she was reluctant to do so. Klaus released his grip on Caroline as they ventured over the threshold and followed the young witch back toward the usual meeting spot.

"Has anyone ever told you guys its kinda creepy how you meet in a cemetery?" Caroline murmured, glancing around at the above ground graves and mausoleums.

"Just as Bonnie used the spirits of the dead witches in Mystic Falls to bolster her own powers," Klaus commented. "You simply didn't always see the graves. Most of them were unmarked."

"Thanks for the history lesson," she teased, catching herself smiling at him.

He had still seen it though, and was delighted that she was doing so with him, even if she was still cautious about it. "Anytime, sweetheart."

They entered the mausoleum and Caroline took up her spot on the stone slab. "So what's up? Because I was pretty sure I said I needed time and all and it's been like a day…" Maybe for them had been long enough but it definitely hadn't been long enough for her to figure anything out. Especially when more information had been thrown at her.

"We need to know where you stand, Caroline," Claire started, looking over at Klaus. "Especially now that you are living with him."

"That's a  _temporary_  situation." Caroline nearly cringed at the dark look Klaus was giving the woman as she continued speaking. " I don't know where I stand aside from getting Marcel off his psychotic power trip. And freeing Davina from the life you all locked her into. Other than that, nope. Sorry." She watched them all readying themselves to say something and sighed. "Look. I've spoken to the witches, and the vamps now, so I need to talk to the werewolves. They should have as much of a say as the rest of you."

That made sense, didn't it? Since they had been pushed out of New Orleans as well. So she didn't quite know  _how_  to contact the werewolves. She'd cross that hurdle when she got to it.

"Right, about that." They all turned to look at Klaus and Caroline knew by his smirk that she wasn't going to like what he had to say. "I found the werewolves. Brought them back to the city. They're staying out of the Quarter for the moment because of Marcel's pesky kill on sight rule, but they're here."

Well that would certainly help some. "You'll need to speak with their Alpha," Claire started only to be interrupted by Klaus.

"That would be me." His smugness just seemed to radiate off of him and from the annoyance Sophie was displaying, Caroline had a feeling she wasn't the only one who wanted to hit him.

" _Seriously?!_ " Caroline glared at him. "And you're just  _now_  sharing that information?" The nerve of him. Though really she knew she shouldn't have been surprised.

"I don't know why any of you thought he would be helpful?" Sophie growled, clearly fed up with the situation. "We should have done better research. Maybe if we had then my sister would still be alive, but no, we  _rushed_  because you all had inkling of hope that we could ensnare him onto our side."

"Be careful what you say, child," Claire warned, but Sophie was having none of it.

For his part Klaus looked entirely too amused by the situation while Caroline looked between the two witches in confusion. Thinking they could control Klaus had definitely been their second mistake. The first having been putting the voodoo queen's soul into a baby's body.

"My sister gave her life for that damn pregnancy with the wolf girl!" Sophie screamed, throwing her hands in the air. "And for  _what?!_  It gained us  _nothing._ "

"I suggest you hold your tongue," Klaus growled, rising from where he had been leaning against the wall.

"Wolf girl?" Caroline asked, even more confused than she had been.

"Hayley. She carries his-" Klaus had the witch pressed up against the wall by her throat in seconds, crushing her windpipe.

Hayley? Caroline blinked, staring at all of them in disbelief. Klaus was yelling. Claire was screaming for him to stop and she shook her head, trying to make sense of what Sophie had said.

Pregnancy.

She carries his…

Hayley.

Caroline looked at Klaus, knowing by the amount of rage that he was displaying that what the witch had said was true. She didn't even think, didn't speak. Caroline simply sped away as fast as she could, fleeing into the crowds and noise as she tried to make everything that she had learned in the last ten minutes disappear. She felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her, a thousand little pieces of wood slicing into her body, and it  _hurt._

Why did it hurt so much?

Everything was overwhelming her. The knew knowledge about what she could do, the players in the game, what her great grandmother had done, Hayley being pregnant, and Caroline just needed to get away.

From him.

From them.

From  _all of it_.

She hadn't been paying attention to where she was going and smacked right into someone. The fact he hadn't budged was already a telltale sign that it was a vampire. "Sorry," she muttered, looking up as she was helped to her feet.

_Marcel._

As if her night couldn't get any worse.


	12. Chapter 12

_You're a queen but you've never known it,_  
_Life has come and left you blinded,  
_ _Stole your smile and left you crying._

* * *

It wasn't supposed to have happened this way.

Klaus wasn't sure exactly how Caroline was supposed to have learned of Hayley and the child in her womb, but  _not this way_. Not out of the mouth of some petulant witch who he should have disposed of ages ago. These witches who had the audacity to think they could control him.  _HIM._  The Original Hybrid. He crushed the witch's windpipe, ignoring the cries of the other, hearing Caroline's footsteps behind him as she fled.

He knew he needed to go after her and he would. Somehow he would fix everything. Starting with the mistake of letting these two fools live from the start. He could hear the bones snapping, such delicate little things, these humans. Witch or not that was all she really was when stripped down to the very core. Someone far beneath him and she should never have seen the light of day again once she had threatened him.

Why had he listened to Elijah all of those weeks ago?  _See the folly now, brother? They will do nothing but destroy us._  But he had been foolish to think acquiescing to his brother's wish for the baby being allowed to live and working with the witches would help keep him in New Orleans, would guarantee his help in bringing down Marcel and regaining the throne. Clearly Klaus needed to reassess how much he needed his brother's help if this was the price to pay for it.

"You should have kept your mouth shut," he growled, releasing his hold on Sophie, satisfied as she fell to the ground. She was still trying to breathe, gurgling desperately for air as blood seeped out of her mouth, and he hoped it was painful. "Left well enough alone and allowed us to go about our business."

If she had simply done that, Caroline and he would already be heading home and while he doubted the night would end the way he wished for it to with her writhing in pleasure underneath him, she at least wouldn't be running away in a city she didn't know.

"You have to fix her now," Claire demanded and Klaus turned to look at the older witch. He laughed at her, amused at the audacity for her to even ask that, though the sound was anything but joyful. There was a malicious undercurrent running through it, a madness, and from the step the older woman took backward he knew he had her attention. She was  _frightened_  and god he had missed that. The fear he could provoke from a mere look.

"I don't have to do anything of the sort." Klaus pushed at Sophie's body with his shoe, looking down at the dying witch. He smiled mockingly at her, watching the life drain from her eyes. "She doesn't have long to live now."

Pain erupted in his head and he glared down at Sophie, knowing the other witch was the cause of it. A quick glance in her direction confirmed his suspicion and while it didn't incapacitate him, it did work to further his irritation. He nearly struck out at her, ready to end her miserable life as well, but a far better idea came to him.

"You want her saved?" Klaus demanded, roughly picking Sophie's body up from the floor. He bit into his wrist, before shoving it at the girl's mouth and forcing blood down her throat. He could hear the bones in her neck knitting back together and the older witch's heartbeat begin to slow back to normal as well. No doubt she must have thought she had won the battle, but no matter how many battles others might win, he would always win the war. "There. She'll be good as new."

The pain stopped and Klaus looked back up at Claire, smiling wickedly. "You actually think you can control me?" he asked, and her eyes widened, her fear driving him to continue. Before she could do anything, Klaus snapped the younger witch's neck and dropped her back down to the floor. "And now, she'll be better than new."

Time seemed to slow down for that brief moment that it took Sophie's body to hit the floor. He watched the older woman drop down to her knees, screaming at the world, at what he had done. "What did you do?" Her screams turned to violent sobs as she moved to cradle Sophie's lifeless body in her arms "You cut her off from everything she's ever known."

Klaus knelt down at her level and placed a hand on her shoulder. His look was sympathetic for a brief moment before he smiled at her, his entire expression mocking her grief. "Let this be a warning. Try to control me again, interfere with Caroline one more time, and I'll make sure to turn every witch in this city into one my kind. And then where will your precious magic go?"

He didn't wait for an answer, leaving the old woman to deal with her pain and grief as he pulled out his cell. "Rebekah," he started as soon as she answered the phone. "Caroline has gone missing. Come and help me find where she decided to run off to. Bring Patrick along and have Elijah lock up the witch after the two of you are out of the house." The last thing he needed was for the other vampire to try and skip town with the boy.

"Did she get bored of you already?" Rebekah asked, though he could hear her moving through the house in search of their brother.

"Sophie decided it would be good fun to inform Caroline of Hayley's predicament," Klaus growled, heading out of the cemetery and toward Bourbon Street. "I decided it'd be a good idea to turn the witch for her big mouth."

"Really, Nik…" He heard his sister's exasperated sigh, but she wisely kept from saying anything more about what he had done. "Patrick and I will be out scouring the city for her in a few."

Klaus hung up without replying. He knew it would be easiest to find Caroline if he was in his wolf form. His wolf knew her scent and would be able to track her down within moments. Klaus also knew that the risk of being caught out as a wolf in the Quarter limits wasn't quite worth it for an emotional runaway. If they didn't find her in a few hours he would reassess the need, but for now, he would use his informants, siblings and own eyes and ears to locate her.

And then it seemed that the two were going to need to have another conversation. One that he did not relish engaging in, but needed to be done.

* * *

She should have said no, allowed Marcel to help her up and been on her merry way. But doing that would have left her with the option of wandering the city she didn't know and Klaus would have found her or heading back to the townhouse and dealing with Klaus. Neither of those options sounded at all appealing to Caroline.

So when Marcel had offered to show her the side to New Orleans for the privileged few-which she had taken to mean vampires-she had jumped at the chance. Not only because it gave her an out to immediately dealing with the Hybrid, but because getting to see Marcel in his natural element was something she needed to do. She had heard about him from the witches, from the Originals, but Caroline knew there were at least two sides to every story and it couldn't hurt to at least attempt to obtain his.

Whatever she had expected it hadn't been an underground club in a private dwelling.  _The Abattoir_. She knew that word.  _Slaughterhouse._  And while it sent chills down her spine as Marcel grinned at her, leading her past the doorman who kept out the uninvited, Caroline tried to believe it was only a name. So many places had unique names that had nothing to do with what actually happened inside of them. Even if she couldn't quite shake off the feeling that this one was all too literal.

Sometime between passing the doorman and entering the dark corridor that led to the club proper, Marcel had slipped his arm around her waist, tugging her close to his body as they walked, and she didn't at all like the possessive undertone to it. Especially when they entered the club, music vibrating through her body, and he leaned in close, sweeping hair from her shoulder before letting his lips brush over her skin. "Has anyone ever told you that you smell divine?" he asked, and did he actually just sniff her?

Caroline expertly shifted out of his grip, used to drunken high school boys and their wily hands. "As does every other girl who uses this exact scent." She flipped her hair back, surveying the crowd of people who moved to the music. "I have a boyfriend."

Sort of. Her and Tyler's relationship was practically dead on its feet, but that excuse usually kept most guys from trying anything further. From the appraising way Marcel was looking her up and down, Caroline had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy. She could deal with the unwanted attention though even if she was wondering  _why_  she was on the receiving end of it. Did he think she knew something about the Originals because she was 'Rebekah's high school friend'?

"Go enjoy the music while I fetch us a drink," he told her, waving toward the throng of dancers. He leaned in close again, and unlike when Klaus did that move to her, his presence did nothing but creep her out. "I'll find you."

She really didn't like how that sounded, like a mixture between a threat and a promise, but flashed her best Miss Mystic smile at him before heading off to lose herself in the music. For a few minutes Caroline just wanted to forget everything else and focus only on the steady beat that flowed through her body. Forget about being a Harbinger. About Valencia's betrayal. The witches. The Originals. Caleb. Hayley. Klaus and Hayley. Pregnant.

It didn't make any sense. Vampires couldn't get pregnant, they were  _dead,_ and hybrid or not his parts that were for baby making should have been dead for like one thousand years. Not that she _cared._  So what if he wanted to go screw were sluts and make stupid babies with them? It didn't concern her in the slightest.

_I don't care._

It was his life. He could do as he pleased.

Why did it cut her though? Why did it twist her insides and make her want to hit something, to scream, to rip someone's throat out and just drown in blood? Something had shattered inside of her as soon as Sophie had spoken and Caroline didn't even know what it was, only that it hurt and she wanted the pain in her chest to go away.

_I intend to be your last._

She had actually believed that, had come to think he meant it. That those looks he directed at her meant she was special to him. That he truly did care. That her words about him loving her had been spot on. That he really did want her to come to New Orleans, to show her the world and all it had to offer her.

_Genuine beauty._

Caroline shook her head, trying to will all of the thoughts away. He could keep his stupid words and his damn drawings and all of it because fool her once and all of that. She wasn't playing second best to anyone ever again. She didn't need him to show her the world. She had her own houses in different countries, her own money and could do it all by herself. Maybe get Elena to come with her or find Matt. Stefan would probably love to hit up Europe once he was done his little road trip. Or Bonnie. She bet Bonnie and her could have a grand old time together.

It didn't matter that she had begun dreaming about what it would be like to have Klaus as her tour guide. The stories he could tell her, the adventures they could have together. They were just fantasies, dreams that she would squash like a bug and form new ones. Just like she had done when all of her human ones had needed to be tossed away.

She  _didn't_ need him there.

Who cared if she wanted him there? That would go away with time and as everyone was so happy to remind her; she had all the time in the world.

_I don't care I don't care I don't care._

Caroline kept on repeating the mantra in her head, moving to the music as she made her way through the crowd. Her dance partner changed every few minutes, sliding along bodies she didn't know, hands moving along her own but she never allowed them to linger, moving on to the next before they could. When a hand possessively drew her flush back against another body she readied herself to break the man's hand, turning to see Marcel smiling at her and offering her a shot.

"Quite the place you've got here," she told him as she moved out of his grip again; certain he'd be able to hear her over the crowd and music. She took the offered drink and downed it quickly, arching a brow at the taste of blood mixed in with the vodka.

"We have a special drinks for our own kind," he informed her, taking the empty glass from her and passing it off to be taken care of. She didn't even see who he handed it to and wondered how many of his minions were currently in the club.

Caroline focused her senses, picking out the humans and the vampires moving about in the sea of people. There were more vampires in the balcony above, hiding in the shadows and that unnerved her, wondering why they were concealed. Her gaze moved to the bar, watching the bartender slice into the wrist of a girl who was sitting at the bar and use her blood to top off a few drinks. He passed her a different shot which the girl eagerly downed and Caroline watched as her wound began to heal.

"Vampire blood," Marcel told her, and she was painfully aware of how close he suddenly was to her again, his stubble grazing against her neck as his lips brushed her ear, breath skimming her skin. His hands slid down her sides, settling along her hips to keep her locked against him. "She's one of our willing donors for the night. A friend of one of those turned and looking to be turned herself if she proves worthy."

Caroline elbowed him in the gut, annoyed by the audacity for him to touching her like he was, and she stepped away from him. "So you have unwilling ones?" What the hell kind of game was he playing at?

The smile he directed at her caused her stomach to turn and he nodded toward the bar before heading out of the throng of dances. She had no choice but to follow him, taking note of the couples in the darkened corners. She had thought they were making out at first, enjoying the space and lack of light, but with a little focus she could make out that they were feeding. "The city council and I have an understanding. We keep the vagrant population low and they look the other way for my particular methods for dealing with them. As for the rest, well, no one likes a dead tourist. Bad for business," he told her, before leaning over the bar to speak to the bartender.

Caroline wasn't exactly sure what he was getting at but had a feeling she would soon find out. Slipping onto the barstool she looked around, trying to figure out what else she could notice, only to find him standing in front of her, crowding her personal space all over again. "And then there are those foolish enough to break the rules I've set out. Those who try to spark a rebellion against me and take away all that I've accomplished."

She could sense he was fishing and not-so subtly trying to send her a warning. Caroline smiled at him, playing off the pretty little blonde angle she had come to use more than once. "I doubt anyone would be that foolish."

He laughed, leaning in entirely too close for her comfort. "You'd be surprised," he murmured, hand resting on her knee, brazenly sliding up her thigh and she was grateful she had worn jeans before she swatted it off. That only seemed to amuse him. "But then again, maybe you wouldn't. You did look rather cozy not even an hour ago with Niklaus Mikaelson."

And just like that she knew the attention he had been heaving onto her hadn't been genuine. She suspected as much from the beginning, but just the way he said Klaus' name, Caroline could tell this was all a power struggle for the other vampire. "Who are you? His latest little dalliance? Is that why you were running? Did he do something rather untoward to you?" Marcel asked, his smile reminding her once again of a viper as his gaze raked over her curves, like he was trying to figure out what made her so damn special. "Klaus was never all that gentle with the ladies unless he wanted to be and he always did delight in screwing with his sister's friends."

She wasn't giving any answers, which only seemed to irritate him and draw him in closer, trapping her against the bar much like Klaus had done earlier in the morning. Caroline glared at him, ready to kick him, when he kept on speaking. "I don't think I've ever seen him like how he was with you though," Marcel continued, and she froze; now more certain than ever that her earlier suspicions were correct. This was exactly what they didn't need, for someone to notice something like that. Though, was it better than him realizing she was the Harbinger? Caroline wasn't sure. "Almost gentle, arm around your waist as he pulled you close while you listened to the jazz band. And that look in his eyes."

Marcel caught her gaze with his own, and she hated how he was looking at her, like she was something for him to claim as his own. So she shoved her knee into his stomach and slid off of the stool. "I've definitely never seen him look at anyone like that before."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, but still didn't speak, knowing her gesture hadn't done anything aside from get her a little distance. She couldn't exactly deny any of what he'd said and had a feeling if she tried that it would only add fuel to the fire. "You're not just a little comfort food for him, are you, Caroline? You are something else, something  _more,_  but you have to know even that will pass once he tires of you." Marcel slid onto the stool she had vacated, waving around at the room. "I'd be happy to offer you a spot here instead. A lifetime of fun and decadence and all I require is a sworn allegiance to me."

She laughed at that, which apparently surprised him from his startled look. "Sorry, I don't swear allegiance to anyone and I think I've had enough of your psycho power trip to last me a lifetime." Even if his words did cut deeply into her, reminding her instantly of Hayley.

The smile quickly evaporated from Marcel's face and he was out of the seat in an instance, grabbing hold of her and arms, his nails digging into her skin. "You do not want to mess with me, little vampire," he hissed, and Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, knowing she shouldn't use her newfound gifts but he was seriously pissing her off and on top of everything else that had happened that day she was  _done._  "How is the family of yours that you left behind? In Virginia, aren't they?"

He did  _not_ just threaten her mother. "Do you seriously think you're scarier than the Big Bad Original Hybrid?" she growled, tearing herself out of his grasp. Not that she feared Klaus, but seriously?! "Because  _newsflash,_ you're not and you never will be."

"The Original family had their time and they squandered it," Marcel informed her, and she hated the amusement in his voice. "As happens to all ancient things they'll be crumbling to dust soon enough."

She stared at him for a long moment. He didn't know what happened to vampires if an Original died. How could he? It was something they had only discovered in Mystic Falls in the last year and considering none of their inner circle had told anyone about it, she doubted anyone else would have known. "You're going to bring about your own downfall," she hissed, certain that it was time for her to leave.

Before she could do anything though, the music in the place changed, lights dimming. "You don't want to miss out on the main course," Marcel drawled before the room erupted into screams.

Caroline watched in horror as the vampires from the balcony leaped into the crowd, attacking humans, and she watched as chaos began to reign. Those who hadn't been immediately snatched up, starting to run for their lives, but the doorways were all guarded and there was suddenly no escape path. Apparently not everyone had been compelled before entering the club and from the sickening grin on Marcel's face as he watched the horror being displayed around him; she knew he was enjoying the horrific revelry.

"Oh don't look so shocked, Caroline," he murmured, edging closer to her again. "We're enjoying our true nature and we'll heal the tourists, compel them to forget this part of the night before sending them back out to enjoy their vacation."

She caught a falling girl, immediately biting into her own wrist and pressing the wound to the girl's mouth to help heal her. "I wasn't finished with that one," a vampire growled, but Marcel waved him away.

"Find another snack, Diego," he ordered, as he leaned back against the bar and watched Caroline compel the human to forget. "When you do get back to Klaus, let my old friend know something, hmm?"

Caroline glared up at him, helping the still staggering girl to her feet. "I've taken his city from him, have the witches under my thumb, built the family with loyalty that he always wanted," He paused, gaze roaming over her body for a moment. It made her want to vomit. "And I will get his new little pet as well."

She knew she shouldn't response, should just take the girl and walk away, but she  _wasn't_  a victim. Was so tired of that being what she was regulated to with the kidnappings, the neck snapping, and now this vampire saying she was some pawn for him to claim.  _Hell no_. "I don't think so," she told him, keeping a grip on the girl. " _One_ , I may look like the classic damsel in distress, but you'll come to find that's the last thing I am if you try anything. And _two,_  I'm not his for you to take." Why did that sound like a lie even to her own ears? "And  _three,_  I am certainly not a pet."

"Might want to get your new little friend out of here," Marcel suggested, chuckling at her and she wanted to wring his neck. To show him just precisely who he was messing with, but the girl was barely able to stand on her own feet, the blood still needing time to do its job. "She doesn't look that well."

There were some seventy odd more humans being devoured in the club and Caroline wanted to help them as well, but she saw the shots of blood being passed around, a sign that they would be healed. This wasn't a battle for her to fight at the moment. It was better to chop the head off the snake and end his very existence than save a few mice from his hungry gaze. She helped the girl out of the crowded club and into the street, thankful she seemed to have gotten her balance back once they were outside.

"Go straight home. Do not let anyone you don't know inside and sleep for the next day," Caroline compelled, knowing the last thing she needed was for the girl to die and go into transition.

Caroline watched the girl nod and then hurry away from the club. She was ready to do the same when a familiar blonde appeared in front of her. " _There_  you are," Rebekah stated, grabbing hold of her arm and intent on flashing away. Something about Caroline's appearance stopped her and she let go of the other girl, silently assessing her. "You look like you could use a drink." She glanced at the doorway Caroline had exited from and frowned, no doubt knowing exactly what had been happening.

"Or twenty," Caroline muttered, trying to get the images of the club out of her mind.

"Come on," Rebekah turned on her heel, heading in the opposite direction of the way back to the townhouse. "I know the perfect place."

Drinking with the Original wasn't really something Caroline ever thought she would want to do, but when the other option was heading back to the townhouse and facing the music, she knew she'd pick drinks with Rebekah anytime. Hopefully it wouldn't be as much of a disaster as following Marcel had turned out to be.

* * *

Drinks turned out to be a bad idea. A  _very_  bad idea. Rebekah had compelled the bartender to keep on bringing them shots, leaving whole bottles for them to consume, even when they were well passed the allowed alcohol limit. Caroline had lost count of how many drinks they had gone through in the first half hour and the amount of alcohol was not only loosening her tongue but allowing her thoughts to run away from her.

"He's quite the kisser," Rebekah continued, raising the champagne bottle in the air as she leaned back against the bar. "Wouldn't have expected it from some small town boy with no worldly experience but the things he can do with those lips."

"I kinda want to say I taught him everything I know, but I'm pretty sure Matt was just born good at kissing," Caroline laughed, twirling the tiny umbrella in the drink. She'd gotten it in one of the first ones she'd ordered and hadn't given it up, convinced every glass needed one now.

"That's right you two dated for a little bit." Was that jealousy in Rebekah's eyes? Had to be a trick of the light, right?

"And we broke up because he couldn't deal with all of this," Caroline muttered, gesturing to herself. "Didn't want the supernatural drama." And yet he'd headed off to Europe with the far scarier vampire she was currently getting plastered with.  _Typical._  "I think he'll always be in love with Elena anyway."

"Aren't they all?" Rebekah drawled, before taking a very long drink of her champagne. Caroline was struck by the bitterness in the other girl's voice. "Even when I had him first-before my brother ruined everything with his compulsion and possessive daggering technique-Stefan still chose the doppelganger over me."

"You guys knew one another before...back when he was a Ripper, right?" Caroline vaguely knew the story from Elena's own retellings of what Stefan had told her.  _You'd have loved the twenties, Caroline._  She shook her head, forcing the memory away, refusing to pay any mind to Klaus Mikaelson and his damn speeches.

"I loved him." Something about the way Rebekah said the word  _loved_  had Caroline thinking it was more of a present tense situation than the girl wanted to let on. "Probably just as well that he doesn't feel the same or Nik would have disposed of him by now." She laughed at Caroline's horrified look. "He's done it to every other one of my would-be suitors and tentative friendship or not with Stefan, he would have killed him. It's not as though he could have turned him like he did for Marcel."

Caroline couldn't help but shiver at the mention of that vampire. She needed a shower or ten to get his disgusting presence the hell off of her. "How exactly did you guys meet him?"

"It was back around when the city was really beginning to blossom," Rebekah told her, waving her hand around to indicate New Orleans. "He was a young boy my brother took an interest in for some reason or another-I try not to understand Nik's motives-and we raised him as one of the family. I was a fool enough to fall for him and thought he had fallen for me, but it seemed all that was needed to get him away from me was Nik offering to turn him in exchange for staying the hell away from me. I would have turned him myself but he never even bothered to ask." She downed the rest of her bottle before gesturing for another.

"He sounds like a real peach," Caroline muttered, staring down at her glass. "He says he's going to bring your family down. That you'll all crumble just like other ancient things do or some crap." At least Rebekah laughed at that one. Caroline stirred the umbrella around the amber liquid again, forgetting for a moment who she was talking as she let the words spill. "He also got entirely too handsy and wants me to tell Klaus that he intends on taking his girl- _not_  that I'm his girl. Oh no,  _wait._  His  _pet_ because apparently I'm a pet."

"Klaus is going to rip his heart out once he knows that Marcel dared to even touch you," Rebekah mused, looking entirely too delighted at the prospect.

Ugh. "He  _can't._  We actually do need him alive." Plus...just no. Caroline could fight her own battle there.

"I'm sure you have realized by now that my brother isn't exactly rational when it comes to you, Caroline," Rebekah began, sizing her up. "I'm still not entirely sure why he's so smitten with you, but you've at least grown tolerable."

"Oh yeah, he's so clearly in love with me," Caroline bit out, tossing back her own drink before placing the glass on the table. She should have kept her mouth shut after that, kept everything inside, but once she started everything just started spilling out. "Which is why he fucked Hayley-who  _betrayed him_ , betrayed us all-and got her pregnant.  _Pregnant._  Which doesn't even make sense! Like...it's not possible. But whatever. I don't care."

"Clearly," Rebekah mused, pouring some of the tequila into the empty glass and pushing it toward her.

"I was stupid. And  _god_  I worked so hard at  _not_ being stupid. I ignored it all. His stupid 'I fancy yous' and his drawings and his little speeches about being strong and fearless."  _We're the same, Caroline._  She took the offered drink, nearly downing the whole glass in one go.  _Full of light._  "But there's only so long a girl can do that, you know, and god he's so persistent and then he goes and says he intends to be my last love and like the damn fool I am I actually believed him. I thought...just maybe, this once, I was actually going to be the one. That the guy that I want really did want me. Not Elena. Not anyone else. Just me."

Whatever Caroline had been expecting to happen it wasn't for Rebekah to slap her face. "Ow!" She glared at the Original. "Have you lost your freaking mind?!"

"No, but clearly you have," Rebekah chided, removing the nearly empty glass from her hand. "He may have fucked the little wolf slut and somehow got the girl pregnant-I'm still not positive on that part-but if you think for one moment you're not more important than her to him then you really have lost your mind."

She leaned against the bar, coolly regarding Caroline. Part of her understood the doubt, that nagging feeling that she would never be good enough, but she honestly couldn't deal with her brother if this misconception sent Caroline running for the hills. "If he didn't care about you he would have locked you away, let you waste away to a shell of yourself, feeding you only the blood you need to survive and then compelled you to do exactly what he desired," Rebekah continued, watching Caroline bite her bottom lip as she listened. "He swore revenge on Valencia and her entire bloodline. And you know my brother, once he says something its law; it's a vow that he will not break. And yet, he does that for you. Altering his plans to protect you. To help you. So snap out of this damn depressing spell because it is beneath you."

Caroline rubbed at her cheek, trying to ignore the other girl's words. She wanted to protest, to come up with some counter argument, but their conversation was rudely interrupted by five vampires entering the bar. Caroline immediately recognized one of them as the one she had saved the girl from. It didn't take them long to spot the two of them, and from the way they smiled; it was obvious that they were there for trouble.

"Friends of yours?" Rebekah murmured glancing over at her as she silently assessed the situation.

"Yeah, right," Caroline muttered, mentally preparing herself for the inevitable fight.

"You owe me some entertainment," Diego hissed, and from the way he was looking the two girls over, Caroline had a good idea what kind of entertainment he was in the mood for.

"I'll pass," Caroline told him, unsurprised that her answer only seemed to anger him.

"You may want to rethink whatever you're planning,  _mate_ ," Rebekah told him, pushing herself off the barstool and Caroline followed suit.

The next bit happened in seconds. Diego and his friends launched themselves at the two of them, clearly thinking they had the upper hand, but Rebekah easily dispatched of the first vampire, ripping out his heart in one neat move. Caroline was beginning to think that heart pulling was a family pastime. The second vampire was heading to stake Rebekah and while Caroline knew it wouldn't actually do anything besides cause the Original a little pain, she leaped forward, knocking the vampire to the floor before snapping his neck.

The other three wouldn't go down as easily, trying to overpower them. The third and fourth went after Rebekah, sensing she was the bigger threat, and she grabbed hold of one of the barstools, breaking it over her knee and tossing Caroline one of the broken legs for her own weapon. The fourth had picked up the stake the first one had dropped and headed for Caroline, who caught Rebekah's makeshift stake. Rebekah had taken care of her own two in seconds, screaming out when Caroline didn't quite get out from under the fourth and the stake plunged through her heart.

Caroline wasn't even fazed and shoved the wooden leg into the vampire, effectively killing him, before she pushed him off of her and pulled the stake out of her own body. "Ugh, I liked this shirt," she muttered, annoyed by the large hole in her top.

Rebekah was staring at her in a mixture of horror and wonder. "But...how?"

"Harbinger trick," Caroline shrugged.

"Let's not tell my brother you were staked tonight, hmm? I'd rather not end up with a dagger in my heart for the next century," Rebekah stated, offering her a hand up.

"Fine by me." Because Caroline had no intention of giving Klaus another reason for his protectiveness.

Rebekah had already compelled the bartender and few patrons from forgetting anything they might say or do that night, so that at least was already taken care of, but they now had two vampire bodies that needed to be deal with. Rebekah headed back to the bar, leaning over it as she held her hand out. "I need to borrow your car."

Ten minutes later and the girls had the vampires in the trunk and were heading back to the townhouse. They drove in comfortable silence and Caroline sighed as Rebekah pulled up to the street, spotting a very pissed off Hybrid waiting for them. Caroline shifted the jacket she was wearing; making sure it covered the gaping hole and blood that stained her shirt.

"You texted me that you found her over two hours ago, Rebekah," Klaus growled as soon as they stepped out of the car.

"We needed some girl time," Rebekah replied, not at all alarmed by her brother's anger.

Klaus was walking toward Caroline and she shook her head, holding her hand up for him to stop. "I need a shower, sleep, and breakfast and  _maybe_  then I'll be ready to talk to you," she snapped, and stomped off into the house without sparing him another glance.

Rebekah saw him turning to follow the girl. "We have a problem, Nik," she told him and popped the trunk. Klaus sighed, exasperated as he took in the five dead bodies. "Only four are permanently dead. The other should wake in a few hours."

"I will get Elijah to dispose of this mess and when I am done you are going to explain to me why the hell one of Marcel's inner circle is dead, where this car came from, and what you and Caroline got up to that led to these circumstances," Klaus growled, irritated with the turn of events and the mess the two had created. Killing a vampire was punishable by death and while there was little doubt in his mind that Rebekah had taken care of any witnesses, there was still the fact that the two had killed one of Marcel's coveted Daywalkers. That would not be so easily swept under the rug.

Rebekah hadn't moved from her spot though and he glared at her, wondering why she hadn't gone inside. "There's something else. Before I found her, Caroline was at the Abattoir," Rebekah told him, and he narrowed his eyes, knowing full well who owned that place and what happened there. "Caroline says Marcel knows you've an interest in her and aside from taking your lovely little kingdom here as his own that he means to also take your girl." Rebekah caught his arm before he could flash away and he growled at the contact, shaking her off but not moving from the sidewalk. "Don't do anything stupid."

And with that Rebekah headed inside.

Klaus slammed his hands onto the hood of the car, his rage overtaking him as Elijah exited the house. "Brother," the older vampire started, and Klaus would have none of his placating tones.

"Take care of this," he demanded, waving at the trunk before heading up toward Caroline's room. He had intended to give her some space, allow her the sleep and bath she had wanted, but it seemed that they needed to speak sooner rather than later before he destroyed every single one of his plans by heading straight to Marcel's place and ripping the vampire's heart from his body.

* * *

Caroline was pretty sure her entire bedroom back in Mystic Falls would actually fit into the bathroom she was currently standing in. She shrugged off the jacket as she walked over to the large circular bathtub, turning the hot and cold handles until she got the exact temperature she wanted. The fuzziness of the alcohol was already ebbing away, the adrenaline rush of fighting five vampires helping to speed up the healing process and thankfully no hangover seemed to be imminent. She glanced at the various bottles lined against the wall at the back of the tub, pressing her lips together as she noted they were all her favorite scent-vanilla-even if she had never heard of the brands.

She shouldn't have been surprised that Klaus would know that little detail. Or that he would have stocked the bathroom with it considering she was half-convinced the room she had woken up in was meant for her. _Or was it for Hayley?_  Frowning, Caroline poured some of the bubble bath mixture into the tub before walking away, picking up her jacket as she headed back toward the bedroom. The last thing she wanted to do was think about the wolf girl because it led to other thoughts and she didn't want to even try and contemplate what those specific ones meant.

Sliding out of the heels she was still wearing, Caroline picked them up, as she opened the door and dropped them onto the chair, draping the jacket over the back. "What the hell happened to you?" Klaus demanded, causing her to jump at his presence in her room.

She blinked, not sure what he was referring to until she caught him staring at her chest. Caroline nearly snapped at him about where his eyes should be focused when she remembered what had happened and the bloody mess that was her top. "I'm fine," she groused, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance. "I believe I stated my terms for talking to you and I haven't gotten sleep or a bath yet, so  _go away._ "

He didn't budge from his spot, looking her over for anymore telltale signs of injury and she shook her head, her annoyance at him only growing with each passing second. "Tell me about Marcel, Caroline," he ordered, and Caroline rolled her eyes. Clearly she needed to keep her mouth shut around Rebekah.

"There's nothing to tell," she muttered, not wanting to give anything away. The last thing they needed was for him to go off half-cocked after the guy.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" Klaus suggested, the look he directed her was hard and she could see the barely contained rage in his eyes. "Because I'm finding it hard to come up with reasons not to go after him and tear out his bloody heart right now."

Caroline looked away then, sighing as she shut her eyes in frustration for a moment. "You know you can't do that." It would ruin everything and more problems than they would be able to handle. "I ran into him after the whole needing some air situation and he offered to show me around. So I let him because you all can tell me to you're blue in the face that he's a bad man, but I needed to see it for myself. Everyone has agendas here and I thought he deserved to at least have me glimpse his own."

It hadn't been a mistake, even if it hadn't gone how she had planned. She had seen into the heart of Marcel and what she had seen frightened her,  _disgusted_  her, and she knew he couldn't be allowed to keep his reign. "Apparently he thought you were getting a little too cozy with me out on the street and believes I'm your pet and like everything else he's tried to take from you, he thinks he should add me to the list of acquisitions. I told him to drop dead." Sort of. It was pretty much implied.

She looked back up at him, hating the concern she saw in his eyes, the damn look that had her believing he really did love her. "And  _stop that._ "

Klaus's brow furrowed in confusion, unaware as to what he had done. He hadn't moved from his spot since she had exited the bathroom. "Stop what, love?"

" _That._  All of it. Just stop," Caroline demanded, unwrapping her arms from herself so she could clench her fists at her side. "Stop looking at me like I'm the whole damn world for you when we both know that's a lie." Because she couldn't take it anymore. The contradictions were killing her, toying with her mind and she was so beyond done with feeling as though she was going crazy.

"If this is because of Hayley," Klaus started, trying not to be amused at the glare Caroline directed at him.

"I don't care who you decide to fuck," she shouted, her anger clearly contradicting everything she was saying. "Screw all of New Orleans. Screw the whole damn world. I. Don't. Care. Actually, you know what?" She walked passed him, opening up her suitcase that had been brought over and dumped the contents onto the bed, snatching up the paper she knew would be inside of it. She nearly tore it in two, hands gripping the paper, willing herself to do so, but she couldn't so she walked back to him and slammed the drawing he had given her all those months ago into his chest. "Take your damn drawings and your talks of last loves and seeing the world and shove them up your ass."

Caroline whirled around, intent on heading into the bathroom, but was stopped by Klaus' grip on her arm. "You say you don't care, but every other fiber of your being is screaming that you do," Klaus told her, placing the drawing down on the chair by her shoes and out of the way.

"Shut up," Caroline warned, tugging at her arm to try and get him to release her. She didn't want to hear his pretty little lies.

"No." Klaus grabbed hold of her other arm and dragged her across the room, shoving her into the unoccupied chair. "I believe I've listened enough to-"

"You  _never_  listen to me!" she shouted, glaring up at him as he trapped her in the seat the same way he had earlier in the day. "Oh you pretend to, I even think you might actually believe that you do, but you don't really listen. I don't think you manage to listen to anything but the sound of your own voice."

"Why do you care if I listen or not, Caroline? Why do you bristle at the fact that I fucked someone else?" he demanded, and she refused to look at him. Hating him in that moment for making her think, for making her look into the thoughts and feelings she desperately wanted to keep hidden.

"Not just anyone.  _Hayley._  You slept with  _Hayley_." Out of everyone, why did it have to be her? She couldn't understand that part. All she wanted was to make sense of it, but she doubted she would ever be able to.

Klaus gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him and she nearly stubbornly closed her eyes just to spite him, but his gaze locked with hers before that could happen and Caroline couldn't look away from his piercing stare. "Yes, I slept with wolf. It was a tactical decision that has since turned out to bite me in the ass, but that problem will be dealt with in due time. And at the time, love, I was convinced you would want nothing to do with me again because of my vendetta against Tyler."

"I  _don't_ want anything to do with you," Caroline hissed, and she wrenched her jaw free from his grip. "Don't you touch me."

"You didn't seem all that opposed to it mere hours ago," Klaus reminded his voice sincere and for once he didn't seem to be regarding her with amusement, but with a seriousness that reminded her of when Tyler had been given his head start.

_We're the same, Caroline._  "Yeah, well, things change," she muttered, mentally slapping herself when she realized she had revealed she had enjoyed their time together. How wonderful it had felt to be in his arms. Something she meant to never let happen again.

"If it's because of Hayley and the babe in her womb, I will happily get rid of that barrier," Klaus told her and she froze at the sincerity in his voice.

"You  _cannot_  be serious." But oh god she knew he was and that was throwing her head for such a loop.

"The only reason I've yet to do so is as a favor to my brother. He's of the belief that this child will bring my family back together. I need him here in New Orleans to help me with our current affairs and the unborn child's well-being seems to be enough to entice him to stay," Klaus shrugged, and he stepped back from the chair allowing her to rise to her feet.

Caroline raked her hands into her hair, shaking her head at him. "But it's your child. Like...that has to mean something." Except what could it mean to him? She couldn't really see Klaus changing diapers or heating up bottles in the middle of the night.

"Tell me, what use do I have for a child? The witches tried to convince me I would need an heir as did my brother, but I'm sure you can see the folly in that assumption," he remarked, arching a brow in amusement at the absurdity of the notion. From the way Caroline scrunched her nose, he had a feeling she understood their mistake. He couldn't die so he would never need to give up the throne, to pass it onto someone else. A child would be a vulnerability he didn't need an attachment to. "Better to dispose of it now before the attachment grows too great."

Caroline took a step backward from him, and he saw the disgust in her eyes that he could think so callously, but a thousand years had taught him a lot about vulnerabilities and how to minimize the effect they had. "Would it be better to allow it to be born? To grow up under constant scrutiny, never allowed to venture anywhere because of mine and my family's enemies?" Klaus asked, and Caroline stared up at the ceiling, hands moving down to pull at the back of her neck as she listened to his reasoning. It disturbed her that she could see his point even if she didn't agree with it. "It would never have a chance of a normal life and would be extremely vulnerable for a good many years. Rebekah and Elijah would grow to love it, to care for it, only to be devastated when it finally died. Whether at the hands of our enemies or from old age. A car accident. So many things that can take away a human life."

It would not doubt have the werewolf gene, but considering how rare it would be for the child to enact the curse before puberty that would do little to aid its survival. "I don't even know what to say to you right now," Caroline breathed out, her head a jumbled mess of emotions.

"I've already made adjustments for one weakness in my life." Just like that he was in front of her again, fingers lifting her chin up to look at him. "And I will continue to pursue you until you get it through your stubbornly thick skull that you were correct in your assessment all those months ago." He paused, and Caroline could almost see the effort it was taking for him to come out and say the next words. "I love you."

She shut her eyes, willing him to shut up, for the conversation to be over. "What exactly do you need for me to do in order to prove that to you? I gave you back Tyler, have helped you with everything you have needed, from prom dresses to protecting your mother to stopping the witches from killing you and your friends. I've allowed Patrick to freely move about New Orleans now. Same with the witch boy even though I trust him very little. I walked away, telling you I would wait and I  _will._ A day, a century. I will wait."

Caroline bit her lip, not sure what to say. It was true he did do all of that, had told her more about her powers, about what she was than anyone else had done so far. But she held back, built back up her walls and refused to let him break them, even if there were more cracks than ever before. And when he spoke of waiting she shook her head, once again willing him to stop speaking. She couldn't handle that kind of admission right then.

"My beautiful Caroline," Klaus murmured, forehead pressing against her own as his hands moved to caress the skin of her neck. Caroline nearly gave into the touch, but after everything that she had learned that day she just couldn't and so she yanked back from him, fleeing into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

"Go away," she shouted; pressing her body against the door in hopes he wouldn't be able to get in. "I mean it. I don't want to talk to you right now."

Which implied she would be ready to talk to him later on and Klaus supposed that was something. "One day you're going to run out of reasons to keep running away, love," he muttered his voice barely audible but he knew she could hear it. And oh Caroline did, swallowing hard at the words.

"But not today," she whispered back, willing him to leave.

"Take your bath and get the rest that you need," Klaus called out, heading toward the door that led to the hallway. He knew doing anything further would only upset the girl and the fact that she was back at the townhouse and safe would have to be enough for now. "I'll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams, sweetheart."

Caroline looked at the nearly overflowing bathtub and locked the door before heading over to twist the handles into the off position. She sat down on the edge of the tub, burying her head in her hands. The conversation with Klaus had only left her further confused and Caroline felt like she didn't know which way was up any longer. Her immaculate house of cards had come crashing down onto her and she didn't know where to even begin to start rebuilding the tower. Or if she even could anymore. But maybe that was the problem. Maybe she needed to stop rebuilding the same structure, to take a step out of her safety net and simply see what would happen.

Maybe she would be able to create something new, something  _better_ , but would it mean leaving behind everything that she had known? All who she was?

The thought of doing that chilled her to the bone and if she was human, she was pretty sure she would be bent over the tub and hyperventilating. Instead she felt the bloodlust trying to push its way to the forefront of her mind and she closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe and get the urges under control. It took a few minutes, but eventually the desire waned and instead of hearing the sound of blood rushing to her ears, she could focus on the movement of the others in the house as they readied themselves for bed or whatever it was that they were doing.

This wasn't how her life was supposed to go. Not even Version 2.0: Vampire Style. She should be enjoying the summer with her friends, not embroiled in some war in New Orleans. There were crates to pick out for her college dorm, a room full of stuff to sort through into 'take to school' and 'leave at home' piles. Tyler was supposed to have come home and she was going to somehow forget everything that had happened while he was gone, push down all the feelings that Klaus invoked from her very soul, and just live a somewhat normal life. Fulfill a few of those meager dreams from Version 1.0: Human Caroline, graduate college and make her prom proud. There wouldn't be a white picket fence or the grandkids, but...the idea of it didn't sound as appealing any longer.

College still did because of her thirst for knowledge and she was looking forward to living with Elena and Bonnie, but so many aspects of her Version 2.0 just weren't cutting it for her anymore and she wondered if she was supposed to be coming up with a 3.0 and the thought of that terrified her to her very core. It had taken months for her to properly come up with the second version, how the hell was she supposed to come up with another in the middle of a damn war?

Sighing, Caroline undressed, piling her clothes into a neat pile on the counter space, making sure they were all perfectly placed— _needing_  to focus on something she could still control for a moment-before sinking into the hot water as she tried to melt away the upsetting day. There would be no answers found that night, only countless questions asked and unanswered. She sunk back against the porcelain, staring up at the ceiling as she willed her body to relax, to compartmentalize all the chaos from the day.

Everything could wait until the morning.


	13. Chapter 13

_But if I listen to the dark,_   
_You'll embrace me like a star,_   
_Envelope me, envelope me..._

* * *

"I take it that your talk with Caroline didn't go exactly as planned?" Rebekah asked as she entered the study. She closed the door behind her, surprised to find Klaus smiling behind the desk. After the shouting from earlier and the fact he had left the room, she had assumed she would find him brooding away, not looking like the cat who just ate the canary. She wasn't sure if she should have been pleased or annoyed by the expression.

Klaus arched his brows, lips turning into a smug smile as he leaned back in the chair. No, it hadn't gone as he expected. Oh he was certain they hadn't had their last discussion about Hayley, but Caroline's anger meant something. She may have kept trying to reiterate that she didn't care what he did-or, well in this case, who he did-but the way she seethed, the very emotions coming off of her in waves had shown him that she did care an awful lot. The business with the wolf girl was only an obstacle and he would overcome as many of those as needed for Caroline to realize that her proper place was beside him.

"Tell me what happened tonight, Rebekah, and don't leave out any details at my expense," he told her, and while his tone was jovial, they both knew from the way he narrowed his eyes, locking his gaze with her own, that he wasn't joking. He wanted to know  _everything_ , no matter how minor it may have seemed to her.

Not for the first time, Rebekah was pleased that he was unable to compel her. It wasn't as though her brother didn't have other ways of ensuring her compliance, but it was still helpful to know that he couldn't do that. Being daggered every hundred years or so was enough of punishment and she still wasn't ready to forgive him for the most recent one or the fact he had so easily given _her_  cure to Silas.

However, Rebekah also knew there was little point in not giving him what he wanted right then. If anything, maybe she could use it to her own advantage. She recounted the events easily enough, from when she had found Caroline outside of Marcel's establishment, compelling a girl to hurry away up until they were at the bar. She hesitated at recounting Caroline's admissions on always being second best, not quite sure she should say anything on the matter. She knew those kind of emotions a little too well, the doubt, the uncertainty, and while her opinion on the little blonde cheerleader wasn't exactly the greatest, Rebekah chose to keep that part of the conversation to herself and skipped ahead to explaining the vampires attacking, remembering to add in what the first one had said to Caroline about entertainment.

"He's lucky it was you who dealt with him," Klaus groused, his entire demeanor growing colder and Rebekah could almost feel a chill in the air. "Perhaps we'll have some fun with the one we're containing before doing what is needed."

"He's on vervain. Should we bleed him dry or let it leave his system the normal way?" Rebekah asked, already knowing his answer. Klaus would want the most painful scenario possible to play out for the vampire. "I've wanted to try out the new knives."

"And why would I let you perform that task?" Klaus mused, honestly curious why she thought he wouldn't be at the helm of that torture. Not only had the vampire had the audacity to go after Caroline but he had tried to harm his sister as well, and while he knew they were still locked in their little battle of wills, no one was allowed to hurt Rebekah aside from him.

"Because you, Nik, are going to be too busy with your little blonde friend to be able to engage in that with the attention that it deserves. Plus the witches will be here soon-her coven," Rebekah reminded, watching him frown in acknowledgement. His priorities would have to be elsewhere and they both knew it. "And he attacked me as well. And you do so know how much I love showing those that attack me how wrong they were in choosing me as their so-called victim."

"I want him begging to die, Rebekah. Begging to die and then force him to continue living," Klaus instructed her as he glanced down at the ipad on the desk. She watched as a small smile tugged at his lips, and he looked up at her. Rebekah could almost see the plans forming in his head and wondered what her brother's latest scheme involved. "Remind me again who we have in Seattle and Southern California?"

Rebekah pressed her lips together, brow furrowing as she tried to remember who was loyal to them in those areas of the country. "Isn't Xandria in Washington?"

"DC, not the state," Klaus muttered, picking up his phone and going through the contacts on it.

"Why do you need someone in…" she trailed off, remembering the conversation he had been having with Caroline the previous night about her aunts. It shouldn't have surprised her, the lengths he would go to in order to ensure he would get what he wanted. And it seemed that he truly did want Caroline Forbes in his life. "She will hate you."

"She'll get over it," Klaus replied waving her off as if it was obvious that was what would happen. Maybe it would take some time, but the girl would learn that there were some grudges that were not worth holding onto when eternity was laid out in front of them. "Not to mention there is no reason for her to even know their cause of death if I orchestrate them correctly." A car accident for one. A nasty fall in the shower for the others. Compulsion was a nifty little trick when creating deaths that he didn't need traced back to him.

"A relationship built on distrust, how very different for you," Rebekah remarked, trailing her fingers over the silver skull on the desk. She ignored his heated stare, pleased he didn't have an actual dagger present to thrust into her as she sat down in one of the chairs across from the desk, sinking into its depths, and glancing over at him. His stormy gaze had given way to a brooding one, having leaned back against his own chair, glaring at nothing in particular.

"If they live, she will die someday, Rebekah," Klaus stated, eyes clouding over with barely contained rage at the mere thought of that happening. Before receiving the Harbinger powers Caroline's life had been in a precarious enough position with her only being a baby vampire and he had often wondered how exactly to protect her from his own enemies once it was known who she was to him. With the Harbinger powers that worry was replaced by her cycle finishing. As the Harbinger nothing would be able to harm her, not permanently, but that time was always limited even if he didn't know for how long. "I will not let that happen."

"Killing people she knows and loves so soon after having talked about it may not be the best way to go about it though. What harm could there possibly be in waiting a few more years to put actual distance between what you said and these 'accidents'?" There would probably still be some doubt in Caroline's mind, some wonder about what had happened to her aunts, but if they were spaced out enough and those involved were killed as well then there would be nothing to link back to her brother. Not that she was interested in helping Klaus with this game plan of his. She didn't even  _like_  Caroline, let alone want to endure an eternity of that girl in their family.

Or so she was going to continue to tell herself.

"But it's your love life to mess up," Rebekah continued, rising from the chair as she smoothed down her hair. "Far be it from me to try and meddle in your business. I know how much I detest when you do that to me."

She paused at the door when he spoke, expecting a biting comment about her lack of taste in suitors. "Thank you for getting her back here safely, Rebekah," Klaus stated, and she blinked in surprise at the fact he had actually thanked her. "It would have become rather cliché if I had to dagger you so soon after you returned to this city."

Rebekah huffed at that, not at all surprised that he had gone and ruined the little moment between them with his idiocy. She chose to focus on his gratitude though. "You're welcome," she told him, intent on leaving before he had a chance to further mess up their little moment. She passed Elijah as she exited the room. "Careful, he seems to be flipping between moods at a rapid pace today."

"How strange and different for Niklaus," Elijah mused, and Rebekah pressed her lips together so she wouldn't laugh, heading away to begin torturing their captive.

"Did you actually try to make a joke?" Klaus asked, not bothering to look up from the ipad he was currently working on. "I take it that the bodies have been dealt with?"

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Elijah informed him, sitting down on the chair Rebekah had vacated. "I also saw the witches. Turning Sophie, really? How did that seem like the appropriate thing to do?" Claire had been less than helpful recounting the events, raving on about how his brother was a madman who would ruin them all as Sophie sat farther away in the room, surrounded by others from their coven. "I am unsure whether or not she'll complete the transition."

"She forgot her place," Klaus dismissed, waving his hand in the air as if the matter was closed. He hardly cared if she completed the process or not. If she did he would deal with her then. "They all have and I will not allow for a witch uprising."

"Why do I feel that your reactions had nothing to do with a possible uprising and everything to do with the blonde upstairs?" Elijah mused, watching his brother's reaction in order to gain some insight into the Hybrid's state of mind. He was nearly fooled by Klaus' lack of response, flicking a finger along the ipad, but he saw the slight tension in his brother's shoulders.

"I suggest you do not forget  _your_ place, Elijah," Klaus warned, coldly glancing at his brother. "How is the wolf girl fairing with that creature you're so intent on seeing born?"

" _Your_  child," Elijah reminded, hating the complete lack of feelings Klaus seemed to have for the baby. "And she is just fine. The Lockwood boy seems to be helping quench her need to leave the house."

"Then I suggest you make sure she stays that way. It'd be a pity if something awful befell her." Klaus leaned back in the chair again, steepling his fingers as he regarded his brother. Tyler Lockwood. He was going to need to figure out exactly what to do with that boy soon. Preferably in a way that didn't end with Caroline hating him. Though, time did tend to heal all wounds if he couldn't quite proceed without that happening.

Klaus ignored Elijah's furious look, knowing his brother had more to say about the situation. No doubt ready to offer another lecture, but he was finished with the conversation. "The Leseid Coven will be joining us soon. See to it that the house I acquired for them is ready to go." He pushed the ipad across the table, turning it to reveal the information Elijah would need. "And then perhaps you should go and check on how Lockwood and the girl are faring."

"If you harm her," Elijah warned, eyes narrowing as he regarded his brother.

"Then you'll destroy that which you claim to love the most?" Klaus chided lips quirking in amusement. "For a child that you believe will bring our little family back together, it seems to me that the only thing it is managing to do is cloud your judgment."

Elijah rose, snatching the ipad up as he glared down at Klaus. "And there are days I wonder if you even remember the meaning of that word.  _Family."_  But he had to hope that somewhere inside his brother still did or what was the use of still fighting for them to truly be one again?

"I remember all of it,  _brother_ ," Klaus mused, eyes darkening in fury as he remembered every slap, every slice into his skin at the hands of his so-called father. The betrayal of his mother. Of each one of his siblings in their own way. And all while he had only tried to keep them safe, to protect them as he fled from Mikael year after year, day after day, trying to break a curse that would only seek to aide him in defeating the monster that sought to kill them. "I think we've had enough brotherly time for the day. You have a job to do."

"If Henrik could see you now," Elijah muttered, leaving the room before Klaus could respond, knowing the words would cut more than any other.

Klaus glared at the vampire's retreating form. Ah, but that was the real calamity of it all, wasn't it? For if Henrik had lived then none of the last one thousand years would have come to pass and Klaus wouldn't be the man he was today, none of them would be. But the boy was dead and nothing would bring him back or change what the years had done to all of them. He could only move forward, that was all any of them could do.

He turned his attention toward the rest of the house, listening intently to what each occupant was doing. Rebekah was busy with their guest, the witch boy was sleeping and Patrick seemed to be pacing the room he was occupying. And Caroline...he could hear her heading toward her bed and knowing she was safe allowed for some of the tension in his body to ease, but he needed to release the rest of it and set off to do just that.

* * *

"Why do you continuously torment yourself by reading those texts over and over again if you're not actually going to call her back?" Hayley asked, using the directions as a makeshift fan.

If there was one thing she never thought she would get used to in New Orleans it was the damn heat. And if the scorching temperature wasn't enough to make every inch of her uncomfortable, the blasted humidity that caused her to start sweating as soon as she moved- _even_  when she had the air conditioning on at full blast was slowly killing her, she was sure of it. Little beads of sweat formed wherever they could; making her feel like she was constantly in a sauna and she didn't even want to contemplate how annoying that would be once she got fatter.

But she didn't want to concentrate on her own self-pity for the moment. No, she wanted to focus on the hybrid who was sitting on the ground attempting to put together a damn crib. They were both at a loss for exactly how the pieces were supposed to snap into place, the directions seemingly in another language as far as either of them were concerned.

"It's really not your damn business," Tyler growled, chucking the wooden piece across the room in frustration. Hayley jumped at the movement, even though the object hadn't been anywhere near colliding with her body. "Why the hell couldn't they just buy an already assembled crib?" Part of him couldn't help but wonder if this was just another way for Klaus to keep him occupied. Even if it had been Elijah who had dropped off the various furniture for the nursery.

"It's not like we have to start putting it all together now, Ty," Hayley pointed out, immediately regretting shortening his name when the boy glared at her. She motioned toward her flattened stomach. She wouldn't be showing for ages yet.  _If_  she even allowed it to get to that point. If she managed to cause the baby's death would that mean the witches' spell would be broken and she would be free to leave New Orleans? It might mean she would piss off some of the Originals-or at the very least Elijah-but Hayley was pretty sure it gave her more of a chance of living than following through with this unwanted pregnancy.

Her only issue was that she couldn't exactly head out to purchase the ingredient to do the trick. Looking back at Tyler, she frowned. Could she use him all over again? Get him to obtain the ingredient needed and then head the hell out of dodge? If he came with her then maybe they could both be safe. Except there was the matter of the idiot girlfriend who's messages he kept looking at, even if there hadn't been a new one in days.

"Why don't you give her a call? I'm sure Caroline will just be so happy that you did." Hayley forced a smile as she rose from her seat on the chair-the only item they had managed to successfully assemble.

Tyler shrugged, stuffing the phone back into his pocket as he exited the room. Each day of not contacting Caroline simply made it harder to actually get up the will to call her, text her, anything. And when the voicemails stopped coming, the texts stopped appearing, it was almost easier to just let the whole thing die. He didn't want to deal with a confrontation, with the tears he knew she would have. What was the point? Returning to Mystic Falls wasn't in the cards anymore, and not just because he was beholden to Klaus or the fact that he was pretty sure Caroline would see him helping Hayley as a betrayal, but what was the point to returning to that town? What was left for him there aside from his girlfriend?

The answer was nothing. He had no home. He had no family. Going back for prom had only increased his paranoia and his anger at everything. The bad memories fully overshadowed any of the good and somehow Caroline had become mixed in with both sets. The dark shadow that was Klaus tossing her in with both and making it hard for Tyler to separate her from the monstrosity. This wasn't fair. He  _loved_ her. She had been there through so much with him, but Tyler had been wondering if that was enough.

Maybe Hayley was right though and he should give her a call. He knew he hadn't dealt with what had happened well, but hearing she was in contact with Klaus…The fact the Original not only had Caroline's number but that they had apparently been keeping in contact just broke something inside of him. There had been a momentary urge to rip out Klaus' heart, to cause him the pain he had been experiencing, but Tyler was just done. He was tired of the constant battle for his life against the Original.

He wanted the rage back, that defiance he had held so close to his chest, the  _need_  to bring Klaus down. But after losing his pack, his mother, and now he was pretty sure he had lost his girlfriend as well...Tyler didn't want to lose his life. Even if that was all he had anymore, he wouldn't give the Hybrid that.

He trudged down the stairs, annoyed with Hayley, annoyed with the whole damn world. Tyler could hear the others in the house, the ones compelled to make sure Hayley remained a prisoner as well as protect her life and he knew she'd be fine if he let himself go for a bit. He need a damn drink and he planned on emptying the liquor cabinet of its contents before the day was over.

"Tyler, I'm  _sorry,_ " Hayley called out from the top of the landing but didn't try to follow him.

It was obvious he was in one of his moods and she didn't relish the idea of being around him. Better to let him drink it out and then they could go back to the tentative reformation of their friendship. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she nearly ignored it, stomping her foot in annoyance when it only picked up doing so again.

Hayley looked down at the text messages, rolling her eyes.

**K:**  Update?

**K:**  Ignoring me will not stop me from calling, Hayley.

**Hayley:**  K doesn't give a crap. Haven't seen R. E seems to care.

But not enough to truly care about her own well-being. Only about the baby's health that was growing inside of her. She really was just an incubator and felt as though her chances of remaining alive after that status was taken from her were slim to none. But she wasn't ready to die. Not yet. Not when she could still have her whole life in front of her if she ran far enough way, if she hid deep enough so they wouldn't find her.

**Hayley:**  What now?

**K:** Seems to doesn't work for me. Or for you.

**K:**  Fix that.

**Hayley:**  Because that's so easy.

**K:** Not my problem.

Hayley growled, turning off the phone as she walked into her bedroom, throwing the phone down on the bed. No, it wasn't her problem but Hayley was sick and tired of all of the games, the secrecy and never truly knowing what the plans were anymore. She was done playing by everyone else's rules. She headed to Tyler's room, listening carefully to make sure no one would see her before entering. His wallet was laying on the desk and she slid out one of the credit cards before sitting down and turning the laptop on.

Ten minutes later and she had found a local shop that not only carried wolfsbane but also shipped the plant nationwide, ordered it, and slipped back out of the room as if nothing else had happened. She could hear Tyler on the lower level drinking away as she headed to her own room. Hopefully no one would bother to trace where she got the mixture from, but if it was her life or his, she was going to pick her own every time.

* * *

When Caroline woke the next morning, she was overwhelmed by the strange feeling of deja vu, wondering if the last twenty-four hours had even happened. Maybe she had dreamt the entire Hayley revelation or the Marcel ordeal or just  _all of it._  A terrible nightmare brought on by the fact that Klaus had snapped her neck, but she quickly realized it had all happened, every last second of it and she didn't quite relish getting out of bed and facing reality.

She reached across the bed, unplugging her phone from its charger and flicked through the messages. One from Elena telling her she hoped she was enjoying her road trip, one from Matt asking if she was okay-she was going to need to ask Rebekah what all Matt knew about her current situation-and one from her mother demanding she be called.

Still none from Tyler.

It didn't cut like it had earlier in the week. Instead there was a dull acceptance that they truly had reached the point where neither of them could go back to who they were, to what they had meant to one another. Caroline had cried her tears all those nights back and had come to find that she simply didn't have any left to cry for the loss of them.

She pushed herself up so she was sitting and dialed her mother's cell phone number. It was a better bet than the house phone considering her mother's hectic work schedule and smiled at the fact her mother answered after the first ring.

"Caroline, what the hell is going on?" Liz demanded, and Caroline could hear the worry in her mother's voice. She could imagine the older woman running a hand through her hair as she closed the office door, wanting to keep the conversation away from prying ears. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…" Caroline paused, not really wanting to lie to her mother, but not wanting to scare her either. "I've been better but I'm okay. Are you?" Because Klaus' words were running through her head, the ones about what Marcel might do if he learned she was the Harbinger.

"A heads up on the fact there would be some witches staying at our house that feel they need to protect me would have been nice," Liz informed her and Caroline groaned, dropping down so her head hit the pillow. "I'd like to know why they seem to think I'm in danger."

"Well you  _are_  Sheriff of Mystic Falls and like one of the few remaining members of the Founders' Families that isn't dead," Caroline pointed out. It was  _true_. It just wasn't the real reason for the added protection.

" _Caroline,_ " Liz warned, clearly not believing the bullshit answer. "What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

"I'm just trying to do my duty, okay. I didn't exactly  _ask_  for these powers or this new life, you know?" Caroline growled, glaring up at the ceiling. Because she sure as hell would not have picked it if she had been asked. "But some people aren't exactly going to like the fact that I am trying to bring like balance or whatever and they'll probably try to hurt the people I care the most about-which is  _you_ , and I'd like for you to live until you're at least one hundred. So witches. Personally I think you should be happy you're not being stalked by a few hundred year old vampire because that's what I got from the person who decided I was one he cares the most about."

Caroline blinked. Wait. Had she just said those words to her mother? Oh god. She really hadn't meant to get into any of that. Maybe her mother hadn't been listening? "What exactly is going on between you and Klaus, Caroline? I'll admit that when you programed his number into my phone that I was suspicious and I should have demanded an explanation then and there but I never thought I would have needed to use it. But I did and I don't know why but he dropped whatever he was doing to search for you, and while I am grateful for that, I do not trust him," Liz informed her, and Caroline closed her eyes, sighing. "And you have to know that you cannot trust him. He's volatile and whatever twisted interest he seems to have in you...it cannot possibly be healthy. It's not normal."

"I'm not normal," Caroline whispered, and that was something both of them were still coming to grips with, something that was proving hard to wrap her head around when she clung so tightly to her human predispositions. "There isn't going to be any white picket fence or two point five kids any more, mom. I'm not going to graduate college and open up some party planning agency. I'm an immortal vampire who needs blood to survive. I'm anything but normal."

"I don't like him," Liz simply stated.

"Yeah, well, I don't like him all that much either sometimes," Caroline shrugged. It was those other times when she was pretty sure it was a whole lot stronger than 'liking him' that freaked her out. "Can we not talk about this right now? He's probably listening in…"

"I thought you were staying at a hotel?" Liz interrupted and Caroline could imagine the vein in her mother's forehead starting to throb.

"Plans changed." She sighed, pushing herself up again. "I have to go, but just...let the witches do their thing, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too. Stay safe," Liz murmured, and Caroline hung up when she heard her mother respond to one of the officers.

She dropped the phone onto the bed and stretched, frowning when she noticed the slip of parchment on her bedside table. Caroline picked it up, noting that it was the same material as the drawing of her and the horse that seemed to have been tacked up to the vanity's mirror. She rolled her eyes at that before flipping over the paper in her hands, biting her lip at what she saw. He'd drawn her again, this time on the streets of New Orleans listening to the jazz band. The girl on the paper looked carefree,  _happy_ , and Caroline wanted that feeling back, the excited bliss she had been experiencing as she had walked with him through Bourbon Street.

She brushed her fingers across the writing at the bottom, already knowing it was his handwriting before she even noted his signature.

_Thank you for your company~Klaus_.

Sighing, she placed the drawing back down and got out of the bed, intent on pushing down the tumultuous array of feelings that wanted to overwhelm her. It was as though she was experiencing every single one along the spectrum at once and wasn't quite sure which one to stick with so she simply was going to ignore them all. She focused her hearing, listening for Caleb's heartbeat and headed in his direction once she found it.

She knocked on the door, not wanting to simply barge inside even though she could tell he was awake. "Unless I'm being allowed out of this room I am not interested," Caleb hollered, clearly angered and she sighed at his voice. It shouldn't have surprised her that Klaus had trapped the boy in the room.

"It's me," Caroline informed him, pressing her forehead against the door. "I'm so sorry." God, she was becoming a walking cliché with the amount of sorrys she was doling out to the witch.

"Are you okay?" Caleb asked and he sounded closer than before. "Rebekah fucking grabbed me yesterday while you were out, threw me in this room and locked the damn door before informing me that Marcel likes to kill witches who use magic without his permission. Something about the way she delighted in saying it had me thinking she wasn't lying." Or he would have forced the door open and gotten the hell out of dodge. Not that he hadn't tried breaking it down the old fashioned way. "It's a heavy ass door. I'm pretty sure I dislocated my damn shoulder."

"Stand back," Caroline ordered before snapping the handle and forcing it open with her own strength. The door was heavier than normal, no doubt reinforced with steel or something. She stepped across the threshold, startled for a moment when he grabbed her into a hug before she hugged him very carefully back. She could sense he had been right in his injury assessment. "Aside from the whole dislocation and imprisonment are you okay? And hold still because this is going to hurt." She popped his shoulder back into place before holding out her arm. "Want some blood to ease the pain?"

"I'd rather not chance it," Caleb told her through gritted teeth, while trying to offer her an appreciative glance. She couldn't really blame him. Dying with vampire blood in his system meant he'd turn and be cut off from his magic, which for a witch was horrible. "And you didn't answer my question. Are you okay? Because I don't know what happened but when Klaus came back without you I am pretty sure he destroyed another room. That guy has anger issues."

Caroline snorted. "Understatement of the century," she muttered before moving to sit on the bed. "I'm okay and I'm really sorry that you had to deal with the aftermath of me spontaneously running away to clear my head." She hadn't thought how it would affect her friends and regretted that, but at least he was alive. And Patrick as well.

"Did he hurt you?" Caleb demanded, looking her over for any signs. Not that they wouldn't be healed by then, but he still needed to look.

"No," Caroline shook her head. Which was the truth and yet not, but Klaus had definitely not hurt her in the way that Caleb was thinking. "Anyway, I ran into Marcel, the supposed vampire king."

"Tell me he's better than Klaus." She hated that she was going to need to wipe the hopeful look off of his face with her answer.

"No. He's got his little vampire army-which  _not_  actually all that little-compelling people in clubs to use their blood as drink mixtures, torturing tourists for kicks and then compelling them to forget...and I really don't even want to think about what he implied he does with the homeless..." Though was Klaus all that better? She wasn't really sure. What kind of King would he be if he got his way? Would he continue on with the barbaric practices that Marcel had instituted? "And add that into what the witches have told us about him, what I read about him in my grandmother's journals and clippings and I'm pretty sure he is not who should be running this city."

"So the vampires are a mess, the witches are a mess...I guess that means you need to find the wolves and talk to them. Preferably the Alpha because that'll be the one in charge," Caleb suggested, massaging his shoulder as best he could.

Oh right. "Yeah, guess who that might be," she groused, clearly annoyed by that particular revelation.

Caleb shook his head in disbelief, willing the guess in his mind to not be true, but from the way she was looking, he knew he was right. "Could this be an even bigger clusterfuck?" he asked, dropping his head into his hands.

"Don't say that. I'm sure it could be," Caroline warned, knocking on the wooden bedpost. "Come on, you are probably starving and I could use breakfast as well so let's go and see what the hell the Originals keep in their kitchen and if we need to order delivery."

"I don't think Klaus wants me out of this room," Caleb replied, nodding toward the door she had needed to break down to even enter.

"You let me deal with Klaus," Caroline told him as she headed toward the door. "I can handle him." Maybe.

She didn't notice Caleb's wary look or his mouthed, "That's what I'm afraid of," as he followed her out of the room and down the stairs.

Five minutes later and they had discovered that there was nothing edible-well for humans at least-in the kitchen, though Caroline had found the fridge stocked with numerous bottles of alcohol as well as a supply of blood bags. She decided not to check if they were her favorite type. "Okay, we'll just google delivery places and I'll pay with my card," Caroline suggested, before realizing that she didn't have a clue where the hell her purse even was anymore. Or her car keys for that matter.

"I'm really not that hungry," Caleb protested, even as his growling stomach proved that to be a lie.

Caroline growled before stomping off through the house, Caleb on her heels. "Klaus _!"_ she called, her annoyance growing with each passing second. Like hell was she going to be a prisoner. Hadn't they gone over this already? And so  _maybe_  she had already nullified their deal by running out on him yesterday but there had been legitimate circumstances for that.

" _Klaus!"_  she yelled louder, before focusing her hearing on the house to try and determine where everyone was located. She could vaguely make out whimpering and Rebekah's voice coming from below, but decided she didn't quite want to know what that was about just yet as she focused on the sound of bristles scratching along a surface.

"Ignoring me doesn't actually make me stop talking," Caroline muttered as she headed in that direction, letting herself into the room. An art studio. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that he had one in there considering his love for art and the picture she had woken up to, but she had never actually seen him at work and it was something to behold.

She stood in the doorway for a long moment, watching him work, dipping the brush into the palette before moving back to the large canvas in front of him. There was a frenziness about him as he painted, juxtaposed with a calmness that was unnerving in its quietness. She hesitated, not really wanting to break him from what he was doing, but the beating of Caleb's heart reminded her that  _he_  did need real food and she needed control of her own belongings.

"Klaus," Caroline tried again, walking over to shut off the music he'd had filling the room. Klaus stopped at that, turning toward her and his expression was one of anger for whoever dared interrupt him. His gaze softened as soon as he saw her, arching a brow before he noticed the witch in the doorway. "Where are my things?" she demanded.

"I believe everything was brought up to your room," Klaus informed her, turning his attention back to the painting.

"Not my keys and not my purse," she pointed out, narrowing her eyes when she noticed his tiny smirk. "Caleb needs real food and while I appreciate the blood bags those are so not going to suffice for him. So, give me my things and we'll go pick up some much needed food and snacks." Get out of the house for a bit, maybe locate some of the wolves and chance talking to them…

"The butler Elijah hired can take care of that for you. He should be around in the next few minutes," Klaus replied, still focusing on the painting before him before he reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He removed a number of bills, dropping them down near the pallet. "And of course Caleb is free to go find his own food." Klaus glanced over at her then, making sure to lock his gaze with her own. "Since neither I nor my siblings will be accompanying this little outing you are not permitted to go. As per our deal." His gaze moved to the witch. "I believe I was already lenient in you breaking the terms of it once. I doubt I'll be as merciful the next time."

"There were exigent circumstances," Caroline protested, throwing her arms up in disbelief. She did not want to have this conversation around Caleb and so she turned to him, urging him to leave. "Just go get something to eat."

He hesitated, clearly not wanting to leave her alone with Klaus again, but sighed, knowing that he did need the food and that she wouldn't be permitted to leave. "I'll be back," Caleb promised, and Caroline nodded, offering him a soft smile.

"Take Patrick with you," she suggested, remembering the orders she had given the other vampire. She wanted to make sure the witch was safe even if she wouldn't be around to protect him. Caleb nodded, closing the door behind him as he left.

Caroline glanced back at Klaus, watching him continue to work on the painting and trying to figure out what he was creating before she turned her attention to the rest of the room. She looked around for a few moments, wondering how many of the paintings on the wall were done by him or if they had been stolen and what might be in the sketchbooks that were piled up on one of the tables. She walked over, lifting one to look at, surprised when Klaus slipped the book from her hands before she could open it. "I don't think you're quite ready to see what's inside there, love," he told her, and Caroline turned around, chest bumping into his because of his close proximity.

She quickly ducked under and around him, not allowing for any of the soft touches from the night before. "We need to talk," she informed him, rounding the table the books were on to try and put distance between them.

"By all means," Klaus waved his hand at her, opening the floor up for discussion as he placed the book back down. He couldn't help but be amused that she had purposefully put distance between them. Still running it seemed.

"What exactly are your plans?" Caroline asked, mouth twisting in annoyance at her own words. "Okay, no, what I mean is...like Marcel has this whole let's upset all of the balance thing going on and making it so everyone ever is beneath him and he holds all the power. Which by definition is totally not a balance for how things are supposed to be, right? And  _I'm_  supposed to like get the balance back." The exact how for her accomplishing that task was still lost on her. "And you're kinda holding the cards for not one but two factions-which why am I not even surprised by that one-but it's not like Marcel is the devil and you're an angel or anything. I'm pretty sure that  _you're_  the devil and he's just some nutjob in disguise." She paused, clasping her hands in front of her body before spreading them out in front of her. "See what I'm getting at?"

God, she hoped he did because she really didn't want to try and explain that he might actually be her enemy in this crazy world. Because how the hell would that even work? It gave her a headache to even try and think about it.

"Better the devil you know than the one you don't," Klaus began, not at all surprised when she rolled her eyes at his response. "My family and I ran this city for nearly two hundred years, Caroline. We lived in relative peace-" Well, as peaceful as he lived with any humans. "-for all of those years. Helped build this city from the bottom up, influencing a great deal of the culture that this city is known for."

"But would you do what he does? Because I've seen just how little you value human life," Caroline pointed out, pretty sure she didn't need to give a rundown on all of those particular instances.

"I would continue to feed, allow those vampires who lived under my jurisdiction to continue to do so. I can't say there would be never be any deaths, Caroline, as it's in our nature for that to happen here and there, but the reckless display that he flaunts isn't something I relish in continuing," Klaus told her, moving back to sit on one of the chairs not occupied by drawing materials. He paused, wondering if he should say what came next, but deciding it was best to test the waters while he could. "Especially since my queen seems to abhor such things."

Caroline scoffed at that, crossing her arms in annoyance at him. "Really because if  _I recall_  you liked the twenties because girls were reckless or whatever," she reminded him, refusing to give into his queen bait. They were not going to talk about them right now. Not that there even  _was_ a them! Ugh.

"And I still maintain that you would have loved it then," Klaus mused, letting his gaze travel up her body. "But that's not the same as an entire group of vampires flaunting their skills and abilities for any and all to see. That brings in unneeded, unwarranted attention such as yourself, Hunters, and a variety of other supernatural beings that you probably believe only exist in storybooks. My family and I ran for one thousand years, Caroline. I would like to have a place where we can finally rest for a few centuries, enjoy our own pursuits again and not worry about pesky teenagers trying to kill us every other day."

"Technically we only tried killing you because you wanted to like bleed Elena dry," Caroline pointed out, moving to the chair opposite him. She removed the set of paints, setting them down on another chair before sitting down. "And the wolves? The witches? What about them? Because yeah, you may be their Alpha but do you even know what it is that they want, what they desire out of life, or are you simply forcing your own wants and needs on them?" Like he did the Hybrids and look at how well that had turned out.

"What do you suggest? I ask them what their heart's desire is?" Klaus mused, seemingly amused by the idea and Caroline shook her head, glancing up at the ceiling as she willed herself not to reach forward and smack him.

"Get to know them. Take a chance, Klaus," Caroline told him, purposefully using his own words back on him. Even if she was doing them a little out of order. "Their hopes, their dreams, what they want out of life."

He leaned forward, a smug smile tugging at his lips. "Do you dare me?"

She shook her head, unable to help smiling at him for a moment. "No, but you should. Because otherwise it's all you you you which really doesn't equal balance." And she didn't want to slide back into their old parts where they were enemies even if she wasn't sure where she exactly wanted to go instead of that.

Caroline leaned back in the chair, watching him closely as she said her next piece. "You once told me that you showed kindness, forgiveness, pity because of me. You gave Tyler back his freedom even if he pretty much threw that away. But show me that again, Klaus. That you're more than just the evil bastard that so many people love to paint you as. That you so easily fall into because it's what you've done for the last however many centuries because you had to in order to survive." Caroline rose, looking down at him. " _Show me_  that you can be King. And maybe…"

Maybe what? So many unspoken things were held in that maybe that Caroline didn't think she could truly name them all. She wasn't ready to give name to any of them considering she was still livid with him, angered with what he had done with Hayley, confused about her own feelings on practically everything. But it had been said and she couldn't take it back now that she had put it out into the ether hanging between them.

"Maybe what, Caroline?" Klaus urged, watching her closely as she walked toward the door.

"Maybe everything," she breathed out, leaving the room before he could reply and closed the door behind her, leaving him behind to contemplate her meaning as she headed to retrieve a much needed blood bag.

She wasn't going to think about what she had just said to him, what she had offered up because if she started to think then she was going to end up freaking out. And now freaking out meant her powers going crazy and that was something she couldn't afford to allow to happen. Caroline had meant it though, even if she wasn't exactly sure what all she had meant by everything. If he showed her he could truly be the King that New Orleans seemed to need…well…then maybe she wouldn't need to continue to raise wall after wall up around him. Maybe she would actually take that chance.

Klaus stared at the door, knowing full well that she was manipulating him into considering others in his plan. He should have been livid, screamed at her that he bowed to no one, that he didn't need to take his future subjects desires into account because they didn't matter. That he would not allow her to have the upper hand, to maneuver him as she so desired. How she would learn her place, and perhaps that was what was causing him to smile. The fact she didn't cower to him, spoke her mind and always had since that night in her bedroom.

Oh, he would show her just how great a King he could be, all the while shaping her into the Queen he knew her to be, that he desired.

Game on.


	14. Chapter 14

_Sometimes before it gets better_  
_The darkness gets bigger  
_ _The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger_

* * *

In Klaus' opinion they did not have time for this frivolous endeavor of Caroline speaking to the pack. The Leseid Coven would be arriving any minute now and Klaus wanted to be on top of his game for that event. Not only would there be a new group of witches in New Orleans, something that was sure to spark Marcel's interest and have him poking around in places Klaus did not want him, but it also meant that he would need to enact his plan for dealing with the Leseid Coven and making sure they didn't get their claws into Caroline. The boy witch was hardly a threat, but an entire coven of witches who would no doubt want to manipulate the girl into their beliefs was another story. If their power hadn't been needed for the coming battles, Klaus would have been keen on keeping them altogether out of his life and far away from Caroline, but he would suffer through their presence as long as they didn't try anything with the young vampire.

He knew they could try and force her powers to transfer to another of her kin, but Klaus had eyes and ears on anyone even remotely related to Caroline and if someone so much as booked them a ticket to a southern state, his soldiers had directives to kill them. Not that he would ever inform Caroline of that fact, he hadn't even told Rebekah about it. This was one task Klaus was keeping close to his chest.

"Okay, so is there anything in particular that I need to know before we go in there?" Caroline asked, breaking him out of his silent reverie. "Because werewolves generally don't like vampires and I like being alive-or well  _you know_ -so is there a specific pack manners that I should be aware of?" Her limited werewolf knowledge had come from hanging around Tyler and her boyfriend had known little of pack mentality most of the time. Even once he had a pack they hadn't exactly warmed to her, even going so far as to kidnap and torture her to get his attention.

And as far as Caroline was concerned she had well passed her torture quota for the next century or two.

"Are you under the impression that I would allow any of them to take even one threatening step toward you?" Klaus challenged, looking at her as though she had lost her mind. "We're not meeting with the entire pack. Only a fraction of it that I have living at this particular apartment. They're spread throughout the city in every section barring the French Quarter. As for what you need to know about pack manners, suffice it to say that they will treat you with the same respect they show to me."

She arched a questioning brow at him, clearly not believing a word he was saying. "They'll pick up immediately on how I act around you, Caroline," Klaus continued, placing a hand on the elevator door to hold it open as he motioned for her to exit to the hallway. "As my queen."

He chuckled at her glare. "You're not king yet and I am not  _yours_ ," she reminded, stepping away from him and fussing with her curls so he couldn't try to be sly and take her hand. "Just lead the way."

Ever since the other morning when she had said her stupid 'maybe' speech he had upped the charm, coming to stand too close to her, touching her in such innocent ways that still made her body shiver from the contact. He had allowed Caleb and Patrick free reign of the city which had been helpful for her own mission, allowing Caroline to send them out on tasks to find out what they could on who the remaining witches were and what officials seemed to be under Marcel's influences. But sending them out had left her alone with Klaus and being alone with him had only allowed him opportunities to try and break down more of her walls.

Caroline wasn't stupid, she knew exactly what he was doing with each little sweep of his fingers along her arm, how his body just happened to skim against hers as he passed by her even though there was an entire expanse of hallway for him to use. Each time he leaned in to explain some new tidbit of information he had just remembered about harbingers, his lips brushing her ear as he told her what he recalled. She ignored him, shrugging off his touches, sliding away when he got too close to her and outright trying to ignore the sensual way he managed to say her name. The little endearments were gone for the moment; using her name only, over and over again and making it sound like a gentle caress that wanted to wrap its way around her and never let her go.

She rebuked all of his efforts, frowning when she finally realized that doing so only made Klaus work harder at it. They were playing a cat and mouse game and while they were both predators by nature, he was even more so and no doubt thrilled by the chase. Not that there was even anything to chase!

Ugh.

He was so damn annoying.

Case in point the way he had reached forward, fingers gliding along her shoulder and she pushed his hand away. "Stop that," she growled, glaring at him and his damn smirk.

"I said this way," Klaus informed her, chuckling at her fury as he turned on his heel and headed toward the werewolves' apartment. He stopped in front of the door, waiting until Caroline was beside him before he knocked. "You have this delightful way of your skin flushing when you're angry and I can't help but wonder just how far down it goes."

There was no time for her to answer as the door opened and Caroline just knew he had planned it that way, leaving her clenching her fists in annoyance and trying not to sputter at his audacity. She watched as a petite redhead answered the door, expression practically glowing as she spotted Klaus. "Please, come in," she told the two of them, smiling brightly and stepping aside to allow them entry.

Caroline glanced around the apartment, pursing her lips at how normal it all looked, reminding her of apartments of twentysomethings she often saw on TV shows instead of fortress for soldiers like she had assumed they would be. There was something so normal about all of it that it was throwing her for a bit of a loop.

The girl closed the door, gesturing for them to walk further inside and Caroline was only too happy to oblige, rolling her eyes when Klaus took hold of her arm, tucking it into his own as he led her to the living room. "I'll just go get the others, unless you would like something to drink? I think we have some bottles of water in the fridge?" the girl offered, nodding toward the kitchen that resided on the other side of the room.

"That's alright, Anna," Klaus told her, pleased he had remembered the girl's name. No doubt that would earn him points in Caroline's 'how to be a king' poll. "Caroline and I will simply wait for you to gather everyone."

He motioned for Caroline to sit down on the couch as soon as the girl left to do as he had instructed, smiling when Caroline roughly pulled her arm out of his clutches. She hadn't wanted to be rude and do it before. "No touching," she hissed, sitting as far away as possible from him on the two-seater. "Seriously, get that through your thick skull and stop it with all the little caresses and leaning forward tricks."

Klaus sat down beside her. "And don't even  _think_  of trying that backhanded arm over the shoulders thing right now," she warned, elbowing him in the side. "God, you're like one thousand. You shouldn't be pulling high school boy tricks."

"Who do you think invented those tricks, Caroline?" Klaus asked his voice low and stubble scraping her cheek as he leaned toward her, lips barely brushing her ear. She turned so she could glare at him, freezing when she realized that allowed his mouth to be precariously close to her own, their unneeded breath grazing each other as they exhaled. Caroline couldn't help but look him in the eye then, swallowing at his piercing stare and forced herself to look away, rolling her eyes for extra measure.

"You're so annoying," she bit out, sinking back against the cushions and crossing her arms until she realized that only made her look like a petulant child and she couldn't afford to look that way at the moment. Uncrossing her arms, she forced herself to sit up, edging away from the back of the couch so she was perched at the front and far enough away from the arm that Klaus had indeed draped over the back.

Four others exited the back with Anna, three males and another female, and Caroline watched as each of them bowed their heads slightly to Klaus in greeting, only sitting when he motioned for them to do so. It took all of her strength to not make a little quip about that, sensing that this was something that pack members did to show reverence to their leader. It reminded her immediately of that night when the Hybrids had captured her, tortured her and Tyler had gotten them all to submit to him. There was no fear here though; no life or death situation being orchestrated, and she didn't know how she felt about any of it.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm here considering I said I wouldn't be around for the rest of the week," Klaus began, watching as the lot of them nodded, a nervous energy coming off of them. No doubt they were wondering if they had displeased him somehow. He glanced over at Caroline, sliding a hand up her back and knowing that the vampire was inwardly seething even if outwardly she didn't react at all to the movement. The others would take it as a sign though, a marking that she was his and that she was to remain unharmed. "This is Caroline. She has some questions for you and I want you to answer them as you would if it was I asking them. Understood?"

All of the wolves nodded, each glancing at Caroline, silently assessing this girl who seemed to have such high standing with their leader. She could only imagine what they were thinking of her since she knew they had to know she was a vampire, and considering how Jules' pack had reviled vampires so much Caroline had come to think all werewolves thought the same way. Her experiences with ones outside of Tyler hadn't really done much to dissuade that line of reasoning.

"Right," Caroline started, pulling the notepad out of her purse. She had come prepared, not wanting to stumble over her questions and come off looking like a fool. Caroline Forbes was always going to be a planner, no matter what life threw at her. She flipped open the book, trying to ignore the fact that Klaus' fingers were still drawing little circles all over her damn back. "What educational levels do you have?"

"I stopped going in middle school," Anna replied, blushing slightly at the admission. "I had my first turning when I was 13 and the pack took me in pretty much right after that. We were unable to attend classes because we were on the move so much."

"Would you want to go back? Or well, obtain your GED?" Caroline asked, jotting down that information. The girl looked older than her, but looks could be deceiving.

"Yes," the girl quickly replied, before hedging a look at Klaus. "If that's what's best for the pack."

"I believe that can be arranged," Klaus informed her, knowing full well that it was what Caroline would have wanted. He hardly cared if the girl was able to finish her education as long as she did as she was told and completed the tasks he set out for her, but he supposed that allowing her to better educate herself would hardly go against what he needed. "As can a variety of other educational pursuits if any of you want to attend college or other career paths. Feel free to let the rest of the pack know and have Cristiano email me a list of those who wish to do so. It may not happen until after summer is over, but we can at least look into for the time being."

"And…" one of the men started, hesitating for a moment.

"No no, go on," Caroline urged, patting Klaus' thigh, stopping as soon as she realized what she was doing. "We're seriously here to see what we can do to make your lives better. Or well, maybe _better_  isn't the right word, but we want to know what it is you'd like to pursue because I doubt being cooped up in this apartment which while fabulously decorated has got to be boring. And you deserve to have lives. To live them."

The five members of the pack looked around at one another. "We don't want to sound ungrateful," the man started again, looking absolutely terrified of the prospect.

"Because we're so very happy to be out the woods and in civilization again," the other woman continued, reaching over to hold the man's hand and give it a squeeze.

"I think what Tabs and Jerry here are trying to say is we would definitely like to maybe go back to school at some point. I know we want to get employment if we can find it in the area," one of the others said, and Klaus remembered that his name was Anthony. "We don't want to be a burden to you and you've already provided all of us with more than we could dream of, but we want to be able to give back outside of just completing our various tasks."

"And I'm pregnant," Tabs blurted out, and Caroline could feel Klaus tense at her side, his fingers stopping their movement, though they didn't leave her back. "It wasn't planned."

"Are they ever?" Klaus groused, his mood darkening considerably and Caroline frowned trying to figure out why that was the case. It couldn't be because of Hayley, there was something else going on here. She glanced at him and then back at the woman and the man holding hands, trying to comfort one another. It dawned on her then that perhaps being pregnant meant the woman would be useless in whatever plans Klaus currently had for the wolves.

"Congratulations," Caroline told them, smiling brightly, as she placed her hand back on Klaus' knee, deliberately digging her nails into him. "Isn't that great, Klaus? Do you know how far along you are?"

He was standing at a very precarious crossroad right now, knowing that his response would not only set the tone for his relationship with the wolves, but also with the girl beside him. Klaus wanted to lash out, call them fools for getting themselves into that position and to demand an abortion. Tell them that such trivial matters such as procreation could happen later on when they were not in the middle of a war. But he couldn't do that with Caroline sitting next to him, willing him to not be selfish, to think of others wants and needs when he didn't even remotely care about them.

"About two months. I've missed two moon cycles," Tabs replied, still warily watching Klaus, all of them waiting for his reaction.

The fact she had known about it since before he had taken them in rankled Klaus even more and the tension in the room only seemed to increase. "Klaus," Caroline prodded, worried about what was going on inside of his head and she stopped digging her fingers in, soothing where she had tried to give pain with a gentle caress of her hand.

He looked at her, caught her gaze with his own and could practically hear her voice in his head by the look she was giving him.  _Show me show me show me._  Had he not shown her already with Tyler? Now he needed to show kindness here as well? Did she not understand what was at stake? How this could incite others in the pack to try for children now and limit their numbers? It should be swiftly dealt with and in a way that would cause the others to think twice before trying the same thing.

_Show me,_  Caroline's eyes continued to urge. The gentle squeeze of her hand on his knee beckoning him to try it her way.

This woman would be the death of him.

Klaus caught her hand, stopping her movements and laced their fingers together so that he was holding onto her hand, keeping it resting on top of his knee. "Then it looks as though our pack will be growing sooner than any of us thought," Klaus finally said, and it was as though a collective sigh of relief passed through the group when he finally spoke. He turned his attention to the wolves. "I take it that Jerry is the father?"

Jerry and Tabs nodded. "We'll look into getting the two of you your own place then," Klaus continued, thumb caressing the side of Caroline's hand, not allowing her to pull away.  _See what I give up for you_. Look at him giving away this bit of control over his subjects' lives, allowing them to decide their own fate. "Jerry, I'll expect you to take on whatever tasks were also Tabatha's so that she can remain protected and out of harm's way. Especially in later months."

"Thank you," Tabatha replied, nearly crying from happiness over his answer and she moved to hug her partner.

"And I believe that's enough for the day. Talk to Cristiano for me Anthony and have him create that list of who wants to pursue an education and let the others know they're more than welcome to obtain a job as long as they remain off the radar of Marcel and his group," Klaus stated, rising from the couch and pulling Caroline up with him.

The werewolves rose, bowing their heads slightly in submission to him. "It was wonderful meeting all of you," Caroline told them, brandishing one of her best Miss Mystic smiles on them as she was all but pulled out of the apartment and toward the elevator.

She knew Klaus was angry, that he was not pleased at all with how the conversation had gone or what he had given to the pack. She just wondered if he saw the heartfelt appreciation on not only the two expectant parents' faces but the other three as well. Did he really not realize the trust he had built in them by giving them some manner of freedom? Judging by the way he was violently pushing the elevator button she figured he hadn't.

Caroline was about to say something when Anthony exited the apartment, calling out for Klaus before hurrying over. "We started keeping track of who's buying wolfsbane from some of the shops in town," he informed Klaus, holding out a sheet of paper. "Here are last week's purchases. As soon as we've got this week's compiled I'll send them over to you."

Klaus released his grip on Caroline's hand, taking the paper from the man. It hadn't been something he had thought for them to do, but he couldn't deny that it was a logical and beneficial search considering it was one of their great weaknesses.

"And how did you come by the information from the ones in the Quarter?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from sounding too demanding, too untrusting. If the man had disobeyed his orders and ventured into that part of the city he was as good as dead, no matter what Caroline might think.

"My sister might carry the wolf gene but we don't know for sure, and if she does have it, she's never triggered it so she can walk in and out of there without any trouble," Anthony informed him. "I called her last week once we were back in the city and she wants to do whatever she can to help bring Marcel to his knees. She's a reporter for the paper. Keeps trying to get in articles about his shady practices but she keeps getting told to drop it. She could tell you quite a bit about who he has in his so-called pockets in the government."

Caroline arched a brow at that, knowing that was definitely something they would need to know. "Think she'd talk with us?" she asked, glancing at the paper in Klaus' hands.

"I put her name and number on the back. She knows I trust Klaus so she'll trust you, sir," Anthony told him.

"Very well," Klaus stated, turning the paper over and taking note of the girl's name and number before folding the paper and sliding it into his pocket. "You've done well, Anthony. Keep it up."

"Thank you," Caroline told him, following Klaus into the elevator as the doors opened and watched the other man grin before heading off to his apartment. "See, look at what-"

She never got to finish the sentence as Klaus had her pressed back against the elevator wall as soon as the doors closed. He would have knocked the wind out of her if she had still been human, but instead he had only managed to break her train of thought. "What the…?"

He was staring down at her and she expected to find anger in his eyes, and while his gaze was definitely heated it wasn't because of any fury. The desire she saw in them had her swallowing hard and he wasn't even touching her any longer, one hand having come to press against the wall beside her head, the other pressing into it beside her shoulder. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a master manipulator, Caroline?" he asked her, his gaze unrelenting and she couldn't seem to look away.

Caroline pressed her lips together, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an answer. "Kindness, forgiveness, and pity," he stated, reminding her of their other conversation on Elena's old porch. "All again, all for you."

Kindness to the wolves by allowing them to obtain jobs and continue their education. Forgiveness for the two wolves had created a roadblock in his plans and pity to allow them to continue the pregnancy he cared nothing for. And she had sat there, looking as regally beautiful as he had always known she would be and reminding him that he couldn't snap at his followers because they annoyed or angered him. It seemed she had been right in her assessment of the situation. The last thing he needed was restless wolves and perhaps their intermingling in society would allow for more information as Anthony's family ties did.

"And maybe when you start to do those things because you actually believe in them it'll mean something," Caroline told him, slipping out from the wall and away from him. "Doing them just for me is…" Is what, Caroline? Something that the Hybrid standing by the wall never did for anyone else. Rarely showed anyone else and here he had done it for a second time and perhaps his reasoning for it was wrong, but it had to mean something, didn't it? And she had basically just thrown it back in his face.

She could see the walls being built back up in the man across from her, the steely gaze replacing the former and she mentally kicked herself for that. She didn't want to go back to him pushing her away like he had in the woods after the incident with the witches. She wasn't ready to move forward either, but backwards was definitely not an option.

"Thank you," she told him as the elevator doors opened. How he reacted now was a sure sign if they were moving backward or not, and considering how easy it was to bruise Klaus' ego she wouldn't be surprised if he chose that option.

Klaus moved forward and he could see her tense, but sensed that the trepidation in her gaze wasn't because she was afraid of him, and he stopped at the door, holding it open for her as he had done earlier. "Now how about some lunch?" he suggested, taking her arm in his own as they headed out of the apartment building.

"Sure, why not?" Caroline replied, nearly pulling back from him, but decided it really wasn't a battle that she cared to fight.

The fact she hadn't pulled away had Klaus smiling to himself as he led her toward a restaurant he'd been wanting to show her since he had stepped foot back in the city.

* * *

Rebekah was in the newly remodeled living room, texting away as she lounged on the couch when she heard the front door open. She listened for a moment, wondering who it was that had finally come home. Once she recognized that she could hear a heartbeat she dropped back against the pillow, resuming her text conversation. She didn't care to speak to the little witch or his lapdog vampire. Even if Patrick  _was_  nice enough to look at and she  _was_  insanely bored, Rebekah had learned long ago not to touch Klaus' pets and as cute as the vampire in question was he definitely wasn't worth a decade or two daggered in a box.

"Where's Caroline?" Caleb demanded as he walked into the room. Part of him knew he should treat the Original laying on the couch with more respect, and while he still greatly feared Rebekah and what she could do to him, he'd learned after the last few days that they wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Not with the deal Caroline had made with Klaus.

"How should I know?" Rebekah asked, not bothering to look up from her phone. "And watch your tone, little witch. I'd hate to cut out your tongue."

"You can't touch me," Caleb started, flinching when she was off the couch within seconds and standing before him.

"Oh, but I can. Cut it out, let you writhe around and scream before stuffing my blood down your throat so you can heal." Rebekah warned, smiling wickedly at him. "But not right away of course. I'd want you to experience the piercing, overwhelming pain first." She sauntered back to the couch, dropping down lazily onto it. "Don't forget, Caleb, my brother made that promise to Caroline and while I'd rather not anger him, push me too far and I'll happily face the consequences."

Patrick didn't move, silently assessing the situation, and while he could tell that Caleb was fearful, more so than he had been on walking inside, he could also tell that Rebekah wouldn't be carrying on with her threat anytime soon. His flight or fight response wasn't kicking in and he knew that if there had been a real threat to the witch that the two of them would be far away from New Orleans before Rebekah had uttered a single word.

"I just need to talk to Caroline," Caleb grumbled dropping down onto one of the chairs that weren't within Rebekah's immediate reach. There was information he and Patrick had uncovered that he thought would be good for their friend to know. Sooner rather than later. "Is she out with Klaus?" He couldn't quite keep the venom out of his voice at the mention of the Hybrid's name.

Rebekah simply waved her hand, already done with the conversation. No doubt the two of them were together but she didn't keep tabs on her brother's whereabouts or care about his little 'woo the cheerleader' crusade. Even if he was becoming slightly more tolerable to be around over the last few days.

A knock at the door brought all three of them looking in the direction of the sound, similar worried expressions on their faces. Rebekah knew of no deliveries that were to be made that day and that was one thing she knew Klaus and Elijah wouldn't forget to tell her about. It was an old habit leftover from their running days. They always let one another know if they were expecting packages so they wouldn't be caught off guard. She focused her hearing, picking up on the fact that there were a good twenty people waiting for an answer, most of them on the street while two stood at the door. And they all had heartbeats.

Leseid Coven.

It had to be them. Who else would be showing up to the house in the middle of the day?

"Patrick, be a dear and check on our guest downstairs. Make sure he stays quiet," Rebekah instructed, sending a quick text to let Klaus and Elijah know they had arrived before putting her phone away. "And you-" she glanced over a Caleb, "-let's meet your coven, shall we?"

She headed toward the hallway before him, refusing to look weak in front of a group of witches, even if they were from this particular coven. She had seen what they could do over the years and never relished being at their mercy. Thankfully, there had been little need for them to be at odds in their previous encounters. Rebekah wasn't so sure that was the case any longer.

Opening the door, she looked down on the petite, heavy set woman who was waiting for an answer. The woman looked back up at her, silently assessing the vampire before her entire face seemed to blossom with happiness. "Now there's my grandson," the woman cried out, opening her arms for a hug as Caleb stepped forward, happily accepting the embrace.

"Hey, Gramma," he murmured, hugging the older woman back just as tightly before waving to the others he had known his entire life.

"I hate to break up the happy reunion, but everyone needs to come inside," Rebekah interrupted, sighing exasperatedly at the scene. "No doubt there's little that can be done about the scene you've already caused, but I'd rather not chance a larger one happening."

She turned on her heel before any of them could answer, expecting to be followed. "She's right, get on in here everyone," Caleb instructed, pulling away from his grandmother and ushering the men and women indoors.

"Are you okay?" his grandmother asked, looking him over for any signs of abuse, relieved when he nodded. "And the Harbinger?"

Caleb knew his grandmother was worried about Caroline because she was a vampire and there had never been a vampire Harbinger before. The entire coven was concerned over what that could mean and no doubt they had heard their own versions of everything from the New Orleans' witches already.

"I think you're going to love her," Caleb told her, pleading with his grandmother to believe him, to give Caroline a chance. He couldn't get the memory of Caroline and the little girl at the beach out of his mind. Her spinning around on the sand bathed in light. She was the one that everyone needed. They would see it or he would die making them see it.

* * *

"I thought we were heading back to the house?" Caroline asked, glancing around at the elegant homes. She knew that if they continued down this particular street they would be at her grandmother's house and Caroline didn't really want to go there with Klaus.

"I believe it's time for you to see someone," Klaus told her, giving no hint as to where they were going. Oh he knew it rankled the girl to not have any control, just as it did him, but considering she had forced him to give up some of his own today, he felt it necessary to take away a bit of hers as well.

They stopped in front of one of the larger houses and Klaus pushed open the iron gate that had been closed, letting all know to stay away from it. They were immediately greeted by a man who looked ready to kill before he caught sight of Klaus. "Very good, Ulrich, now go back to surveying the grounds," Klaus told the man, taking Caroline's arm again as he led her up the pathway toward the door.

"Who do I need to see?" she demanded, though her voice was nearly inaudible as she glanced up at the columns of the house. Who could possibly be in this house, surrounded by guards-because oh yes, she saw another man further along, looking ready to attack before he too caught sight of Klaus.

_Hayley._

Caroline tried to yank her arm away from him. She did not want to see that girl. She was still dealing with even knowing the girl was pregnant and now he wanted to show her off?  _No._  "Let me go," Caroline demanded her voice louder now. "I don't need proof that the girl is pregnant."

Klaus stopped at the top step, glancing down at the struggling girl and dragged her up to the top step to stand beside him. "We're not here for her actually, though she will be here," he informed her, before leaning down so close that their noses nearly touched "Just say the word and I'll happily rip out her heart."

Caroline pushed him away, wrenching her arm from his grip. " _No._ " How could this man go so easily from laughing with her at a table in a restaurant to offering to rip out a pregnant girl's heart? He was going to give her whiplash. "Let's just get this over with."

She knew they wouldn't be leaving until whatever scenario he wanted to play out was finished. Klaus flashed her a grin before pushing open the door and letting them in. "Come out, come out wherever you are," he spoke, his voice reverberating through the large open parlor.

Hayley appeared at the top of the stairs at the same time an older woman and man entered the downstairs area from two opposite doors. "Mr. Mikaelson," the older couple greeted, and he waved at them to go back to their duties, while Hayley looked down suspiciously at him.

"Why are you here?" she asked, clearly not having seen Caroline yet.

"And where is my favorite little Hybrid?" Klaus asked, and Caroline didn't move from the doorway, eyes widening in horror when she realized why he had brought her to that house. "Don't tell me he's already warming your bed."

Hayley glared down at him, refusing to rise to the bait or venture downstairs. The less time she had to spend in the Original's presence, the better. Though she was rather confused as to why he was around. There were no deliveries to be made and usually it was Elijah who checked up on them. Something was up.

"I want to go,  _now_ ," Caroline urged her voice as quiet as she could make it, hopeful that only Klaus would pick up what she was saying. She was not ready for this confrontation, no matter how much she knew it needed to happen.

"I'm right here," Tyler grumbled, heading out from the same direction the other man had come from and stopped in his tracks when he spotted the blonde behind Klaus. "Caroline?"

"I'm going to go get a drink," Klaus informed the group, glancing back at Caroline. He didn't enjoy the pain he saw in her eyes, the anger she directed at him for a moment before looking back at Tyler. He knew it was probably wrong of him to put her in this position, but the sooner she spoke to Tyler, the sooner the two truly ended their relationship and not just over a pathetic phone call misunderstanding, the better chance he had at finally having Caroline for himself. Maybe this would backfire in his face and the two would get back together, but Klaus had a feeling it wouldn't, and even if it did, it was better to know for certain than constantly living with wondering when Tyler would enter her life again to try and steal her away. Better to adjust his plans if the boy won her over now.

He looked up at Hayley, seeing the girl's shock at the situation. "I suggest you stay up there, wolf," Klaus told her before walking past everyone and heading toward the liquor cabinet.

Caroline glared at his backside until he disappeared pass the doorway and she could no longer see him. It was that or look at Tyler and she wasn't ready to do that yet. "Care, why are you with him?" Tyler asked, running a hand through his hair and took a moment to glance up toward where Hayley had been. Thankfully the other girl had disappeared into one of the rooms.

"Seriously?!" Caroline threw her hands in the air, staring at him. "We haven't talked for like two weeks and the first thing you have to say to me is to ask  _why I'm with_ _ **him**_?! You haven't answered a single text, a single voicemail. You haven't even tried to talk to me and you ask me why I'm with Klaus?!" She could feel her anger trying to get the better of her, saw the far light in the corner start to flicker, and forced herself to calm down and breathe. "Did you ever think that oh hey, he was the last person you were with so maybe I came here with him so I could freaking talk to you?"

Which okay, hadn't been the exact scenario and she had planned on getting around to asking Klaus exactly where Tyler was, but only after she was ready for this conversation. "And I find you here with  _her?_ "

"She needed help, Caroline," Tyler protested, pleading with her to understand and she tried to, she really did.

"And I needed you," she told him, shaking her head at the injustice of it all. How could he not have seen that?

Out of all the people in the world for him to have been residing with it just had to be Hayley. The girl who had betrayed him, the entire Hybrid pack, snapped Caroline's neck and played them all for fools. He could have returned home to her, they could have been happy, but he had chosen Hayley instead—and god part of Caroline did understand that he was only trying to help someone who was once his friend—but he'd chosen Hayley over her. Somehow she had wound up being second choice all over again and it  _hurt._

"I cannot with you right now." She stomped off in the direction Klaus had gone. She needed a damn drink too.

"Caroline," Tyler started, using that damn placating tone she was coming to hate from everyone ever. He followed after her, but she ignored him, listening for the telltale signs of where Klaus had headed and pushed open the doors, walking toward the Hybrid who was lounging in one of the chairs with his own glass of Scotch.

She snatched the glass from his hand and downed the whole thing as Tyler walked inside the room. "Get out," she growled at Klaus, who looked up at her, mildly amused.

"I believe I was in here first, Caroline," he pointed out, and she reached past him for the bottle of Scotch, refilling the glass.

"And I need the alcohol more than you so get out and go entertain your baby mama," she hissed, ignoring the annoyed glare he directed at her for that comment. She didn't even care. She was pissed at him. At Tyler. At Hayley. At her great grandmother. At  _all of them._

"Are you certain you want me anywhere near the girl?" Klaus reminded, crossing his fingers over his chest where his heart was located beneath, a clear indicator of what he might do.

"I don't care what you do," Caroline informed him, glaring over at him as she took another long sip of her drink. Except she did and she knew that he knew it from the amused look he directed at her which only made her want to claw his damn eyes out.

Tyler hovered in the doorway, watching the exchange, confused and concerned about what was happening. He didn't like how close Klaus was to Caroline, nor did he enjoy the way Klaus was looking at her, like he owned her, as though she belonged to him now. "As you wish," Klaus murmured, unable to resist running his fingers along her arm as he rose from his seat, smirking at Tyler as he exited the room.

"What the hell was that?" Tyler demanded, shutting the door behind him and heading over to where Caroline stood, refilling her glass all over again.

"What was what? Me needing a drink and getting one?" she asked, shrugging and not really wanting to go into the dynamic between her and the Original.

"Why is he looking at you like you're  _his_ , Caroline?" Tyler pressed, rounding on her, furious that she wasn't bothering to look at him or to even seem bothered by the prospect of what he had said. Klaus had always looked at Caroline a certain way-with this longing for her to claim one day as his own, but now he looked victorious, as if he'd made his claim and was never letting go.

"Because he has boundary issues? I don't know. I can't exactly control the way he looks at me, can I?" Caroline pointed out, putting the glass down. Maybe alcohol wasn't a good idea. It wasn't going to do anything but confuse her thoughts and she figured she might need those as clear as possible for this conversation. She sighed, dropping down on the chair Klaus had vacated and looked up at Tyler. "What happened to us?"

Where had they gone wrong? When had it changed from fighting to always being together to just fighting, to not talking, to seemingly giving up on even the prospect of them. "Why didn't you come home? He let you go and all I wanted was for you to come home and you  _lied to me_." And really that was the part that had hurt the most, even more than him not returning, but what had happened to honesty? She knew that Tyler knew how much she valued that in people.

"He  _let_  me go," Tyler growled, running his hands frustratedly through his hair as he looked down at her. "Do you know what that's like? Not to be able to be with you except because he's decided to show me some damn mercy?"

"Who cares why he did it? All that matters is that he did and you can come home." She leaned back against the chair, crossing her arms and looked away from him. "Or you could, but you can't anymore, can you? Because you're here instead of at home with me."

It should have been Tyler who she told about all the craziness in her life. Tyler who she could have called in the middle of the night when she couldn't sleep in New York City. But after countless ignored calls or ones where she could tell he wasn't listening, Caroline had given up on reaching out. Especially once she had realized he wasn't reaching back.

"You're not home either," Tyler pointed out, dropping down onto the other couch, and she shook her head at him. That wasn't the point. Couldn't he see that?

Caroline could feel the tears pricking her eyes, wanting to be released but she refused to let them fall. "What happened to us?" she breathed out, laying her head back against the chair's cushioning as she closed her eyes.

"Let's just go, Care," Tyler urged and she snapped to attention at that, looking over at him. "Just leave all of this the hell behind and run as far and as fast as we can."

If he had asked her to do that a few weeks ago she probably would have jumped at the opportunity, but there was no way she could any longer. She was the Harbinger and she had a job to do. Not to mention she was pretty sure running wasn't something Tyler would be able to do for too long and not just because Klaus would find them and kill him. She had seen the other werewolves today, the family they had created and while their circumstances had been awful, they had stuck together. All they had wanted was a place they could call home and start a new generation and while Tyler was a Hybrid, Caroline knew that he probably had that mentality in him as well. Or why had he unsired all the Hybrids? Why else was he in New Orleans helping someone who had betrayed him?

Maybe he would run with her for a few years, a century even, but he would want what the other werewolves had. The last thing Caroline wanted was for him to become cold and manipulative like the pregnant wolf upstairs. The one who didn't have a family and wanted so desperately to find it again.

"For how long?" Caroline asked and she could just sense Klaus nearby, no doubt listening to their conversation and she had to hand it to him for not immediately bursting into the room at Tyler's suggestion. "Because I know you, Ty. The wolf in you is going to want a pack, to settle down and have a family. Which apparently you can do if whatever the hell that is upstairs is any indication."

"So? You're the one who wanted the whole picket fence and 2.5 kids scenario since we were all in elementary school," Tyler pointed out, smiling over at her and she remembered that girl, that whisper of herself who had slowly been chipped away.

Had she ever really wanted it though? Or had it just been the dream she clung to because her own family had become so broken that she wanted to try and make one that wasn't?

"I gave up that dream so long ago, Tyler," she told him, and maybe she had held onto it a little ways into being a vampire, but only as much as she had tried so desperately to cling to her human life. But she wasn't human, that much was certain in her head, and she liked her new dreams. "I don't want to stay in one place. I want see the world, to explore every inch of it. Learn new things and considering I'll forever look seventeen I can't really stay in one place all that long anyway."

Neither could he, but Caroline figured that if he was with a pack they would figure that part out. "I don't even think I wanted it all that much before I couldn't really have it either," she continued, looking back at the ceiling. It was something she had been thinking about more and more lately now that she needed to plan a new course for her life and she'd come to realize so many things about her past dreams and desires when she could look back and analyze them from this new perspective. "I was just trying to create the perfect family, Tyler, and we both know there's no such thing as that. I'd have been a miserable alcoholic soccer mom who probably would've loved her kids and been in a horrible loveless marriage and having an affair with like the town drunk or whatever." Okay, maybe it wouldn't have been that bad but considering she knew what the other relationships in their small town were like it really wasn't all that far off.

_Small town boy, small town life…_  oh god how she hated Klaus and his words coming back to her at the most inopportune moments. "I've changed," she murmured, and not just because of her newfound powers and responsibilities.

"Because of  _him_ ," Tyler grumbled, and Caroline shook her head.

"Did you even listen to a word I just said because I am pretty sure I didn't mention the damn Original's name even once!" she yelled at him as she rose from her chair. "This isn't about him. It's about  _me._  And maybe he was a goddamn ass for bringing me here to do this now, but what else was there to do? You weren't answering my calls, my texts. Were you ever going to call me back? Text me back?"

From the way Tyler stared resolutely at the ground, hands gripping the back of his neck as his shoulders slumped Caroline figured she had her answer. "When did I stop being enough for you to fight for?" she asked, running her hands through her hair.

"I don't know," Tyler replied, and something inside of Caroline just broke at that admission. That he didn't think their relationship was worth the fight. What was the point in trying so desperately to hold onto something that was so irreparably broken?

"I will always love you, Tyler, but I can't do this anymore," Caroline told him, and headed toward the door. "And I don't think you can either." Nor did she think either of them really wanted to. Part of her wanted him to call after her, to plead with her to stay, that they could figure it all out and that part was heartbroken when he didn't. When he kept staring at the floor as she walked out of the room and out of his life.

She headed toward the main door, wiping barely fallen tears from her cheeks as she passed Klaus. "I hope you're happy," she snapped at him, thankful he wasn't smirking at her as he held open the door for her. Caroline wanted to say she hated him, for him to go to hell, but instead she just wrapped her arms around herself in a comforting hug and started walking back toward where the Mikaelson townhouse was located.

Klaus watched her go for a moment, nearly following after her when he heard Tyler exit through the hallway and stop a few feet from him. "Have something to say, mate?" he asked, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"You're going to destroy her," Tyler said, glaring at him, trying so hard to control his rage and not outright attack the man who had managed to take so many things from him.

"No, I'm going to make her a Queen," Klaus informed him before heading down the stairs and after Caroline. He only paused once when he heard Tyler speak again.

"Are you sure that's not the same thing?"

But he ignored him, catching up with Caroline who was steadfastly ignoring him. "I know you think my methods cruel," Klaus started and she snorted at that, finally looking at him, a clear 'you think' expression on her face. "But what would have been better? For you to wallow in wondering if he would ever call, ever contact you and waiting tirelessly for that day or knowing with certainty that he never would have and now being free to move on with your life?"

Caroline stopped in her tracks, causing Klaus to stop as well and turn back to look at her. She was glorious in her barely contained fury. "You mean move on  _with you_ ," she snapped, shaking her head in disbelief when he shrugged, clearly indicating that was his preferred method. "I can't even look at you right now, so how about we just don't talk for the next few days? Or even see each other? Because I think that might be best for everyone involved."

"Ah, so then you'll still want to converse with me eventually," he pointed out, and she let out a frustrated groan stomping away from him. "And you'll want to turn right, Caroline, our house is that way."

"It's  _not_  ours," she yelled at him, but did as advised because she needed to see Caleb and Patrick, to know that they were okay and then have like three blood bags to try and control her seething rage at the nerve of the man behind her. Every time she thought  _maybe_ he was capable of being something more, each time he did something to show her that he could be, he just seemed to throw in something that reminded her how much of a bastard that he really was and she couldn't handle any more of that game right now.

She walked up the stairs to the townhouse door, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Klaus to get there in order to unlock it. The ass took his sweet time, and she hissed as he deliberately brushed his body against hers, baring her fangs at him in warning. When she saw him look down at her, his gaze darkening with barely contained need at the sight of them, Caroline quickly let them ascend and pushed past him into the house. She was in no mood for him and his lust.

"Oh good, you're both here," Rebekah greeted as she walked down the stairs. "The Leseid Coven is here and they're very excited to meet you."

Caroline nodded, watching Rebekah head off into the living room where she could hear a whole bunch voices. Could she not get one single break? She needed ice cream and alcohol and a two-day marathon of horrible Lifetime movies before she would be ready to deal with anyone, but Caroline knew that wasn't in the cards for her. She had a duty to do and would just need to deal with her broken heart some other time. Fate of New Orleans was far more important than the fate of her relationships. Even when dealing with herself, Caroline had to put her own needs and wants in the second place category, to be dealt with later.

Klaus put his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't care if he was attempting to offer comfort or whatever his motives were. She didn't want him touching her and so she shrugged him off, glaring at him before straightening her hair and putting on her best 'I'm fine' face.

"Let's just do this."


	15. Chapter 15

_Here I'm pinned between darkness and light,  
_ _bleached and blinded by these nights._

* * *

The bleating was getting on Davina's nerves. The high pitched whines of the tiny lamb as it walked around the room, no doubt searching for the mother it had been so carelessly ripped away from only hours before, making her want to pull out her hair. She sat perched on her bed, watching the helpless creature walk, bumping into objects on its wobbly legs, scattering objects onto the floor and nearly tripping over the mess it made. Finally it lay down on the floor, still whining but too tired to keep moving and she pushed herself up from the bed and slid down onto the floor beside it.

"Do you miss your mother?" she asked the crying creature, taking the pitiful wail as an affirmative answer. "I never knew mine." She stroked the lamb's head, offering mock comfort as she pulled a paint palette out from under the bed and placed it down beside her. "Some days I don't think I even had one. I think I cried for her, but Marcel took away the pain and now I don't feel sad for her anymore. Don't worry, I'll take away all of your pain now."

Davina leaned down so her mouth was near the trembling creature's ear. "You'll never need to fear again." She pulled the knife out from under the mattress, easily slicing through the lamb's neck, and held it down over the palette, collecting the lamb's blood as the life drained out of the animal.

She picked up the palette overflowing with blood and moved to her new canvas, the whiteness of the fabric seeming blinding to her now and she needed to make it go away. To fix it and show what was in her head. Dipping her hands in the blood she set about painting what she had seen, her body moving in a frenzy as she tried to get the picture out of her mind and onto the canvas. She stood for what could have been minutes or possibly hours, fingers flying across the paper, dipping back into the blood and creating a masterpiece that no one besides her, Marcel, or his most trusted would ever see.

Davina collapsed when she was finished, palette dropping from her hands and spilling the excess blood onto wooden floorboard. Her fingers were stained with it, eyes rolling into the back of her head as her seizure began to take hold of her mind and body. She glimpsed what she had drawn, fear gripping her heart as she realized what she had put to paper.

New Orleans was raining blood and the same girl from before was kneeling over Marcel, holding his heart in her hand. Killing the only person who had ever cared for her, who protected her from all the others who wanted her for themselves. She couldn't let it happen, but wasn't sure how she was supposed to stop what her visions told her would definitely come to pass as the world disappeared in whiteness around her.

* * *

As soon as Caroline and Klaus had entered the living room it had turned into chaos as everyone began speaking at once. Caroline had frozen at the threshold, her flight or fight response wanting to kick into overdrive with flight currently winning for which she'd choose to enact. Klaus had stepped forward, hand moving to her back as if it that was its place, and instead of pulling away from him like she would have only moments before, Caroline stepped closer to him, taking the comfort and strength offered by the gesture for a brief moment.

Better the devil you know and all that...

"That's enough!" an older woman gruffly yelled, tapping her cane against the ground, and all talking ceased immediately. "This isn't a zoo; let the girl sit down before you all start going on like chickens with your heads cut off."

Caroline offered the woman a hesitant smile, noting she had the same nose structure as Caleb and glanced around for her friend, moving quickly toward him once she saw he had saved her a seat. She almost felt bad about leaving Klaus standing on his own, but after the stunt he had pulled with Tyler, Caroline's sympathy level for him was pretty damn low. She sank onto the seat beside Caleb, shaking her head at his concerned look. They'd talk later when there weren't so many people around.

"Do they even have to be here?" a young woman asked, jutting a finger in Rebekah's direction. "This is Coven business." From the murmurs that followed it seemed that the majority of the rest of the Coven was in agreement.

"And it's my house that you're in so I think I'll see fit to go into whichever room I please," Klaus informed her, walking around the room to sit down by his sister, even though his gaze never left Caroline. "Before you go getting any bright ideas about taking Caroline elsewhere for this little chat, you'll find that she stays here. Isn't that right?"

"Are you under the impression you can keep the Harbinger as your hostage?" the same woman cried out, rising to her feet as did a number of the others, yelling beginning again. Klaus for his part stayed sitting, while Rebekah inspected her nails, clearly nonplussed by the situation.

Caroline watched the old woman shake her head and sigh, no doubt readying to try and break up the dispute all over again. "I'm not anyone's hostage," Caroline stated, and the yelling stopped, everyone in the room looking back over at her. "Klaus is my friend. Also one of the vampires representing vampire rights in this crazy situation as well as the werewolf pack. And considering everything I've seen from the witches that reside in this city and the vampires that do, I'm not exactly going to trust myself alone with a large group of new witches no matter if they are Caleb's Coven." She glanced over at the boy. "No offense."

Caleb shook his head, grinning. "None taken."

"I know what's he's capable of and how to get around his mood swings-and  _boy_ -does he have a lot of those," Caroline continued, nodding toward the smirking Hybrid who arched a brow at her description. Even Rebekah's mouth quirked in amusement at that comment before she went back to studying her nails. "I don't know anything about any of you yet. So, picking the devil I know right now. So why don't we go with introductions and who you are because I like knowing who I'm talking to. I'm Caroline Forbes, current Harbinger. Also a vampire. It's a thing."

She motioned for Caleb to continue the introductions, listening to each of the men and women in the group introduce themselves. The older woman was Caleb's grandmother and while he also had an aunt and a cousin in the group, the rest of the members were not related to him. It was easy enough to catalogue names to faces in her head, putting to memory other characteristics she noted as well. Such as which of the witches watched Klaus and Rebekah with trepidation and which had outright contempt on their faces for the Originals.

"Okay, great, now I'm going to happily give the floor over to Cecile because I truly have no freaking clue what is going on right now," Caroline said, gesturing toward Caleb's grandmother. Caleb reached over, squeezing Caroline's arm as he leaned closer.

"You're doing great," he quietly assured her, and she smiled at him in thanks, rolling her eyes when she noticed Klaus' narrowed eyes focused on Caleb's hand on her arm.

"What is it that you know so far about the factions in New Orleans?" Cecile asked, and her gentle smile reminded Caroline of Bonnie's grandmother for a moment. But she knew better than to be fooled by amiable smiles. The witch Claire had done the same only days ago and she had held her own dark secret and Caroline was pretty sure they didn't even know all that Claire and the rest of the older New Orleans witches had done.

"The witches used magic about sixteen years ago to resurrect Marie Laveau and as we all know resurrection magic comes with a price," Caroline told them, not surprised by the few gasps in the room at that information. "They accidentally put her spirit into one of the babies of the Coven. Though I'm beginning to wonder if it was an accident."

"Yeah, I'm kinda dubious on that point too," Caleb muttered, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees as he looked out at the group. "You don't bring babies along when you're casting spells unless you're using them for it."

"What I don't understand is then what? They were trapping a grown woman in a baby's body? Like that had to be maddening and unhelpful since babies really can't do much chanting or anything," Caroline pointed out, trying to make sense of why the witches would have deliberately spelled a baby. It didn't make sense so maybe it had been accidental.

"It depends on the spell," Rebekah chimed in, and all heads turned toward her. She leaned back against the couch, cocking her head slightly to the side as she looked out at the surprised faces. "My mother  _was_  a powerful witch. I happened to be her apprentice before circumstances changed the course of my life so I do know a thing or two about magic. Who do you think taught dear Marie a few tricks?" She leaned forward, and Caroline shook her head at the older vampire's haughty expression, not at all surprised that Rebekah was enjoying the attention.

"If they only wanted to harness Marie's power then putting it into the baby was a perfect way to do so," Rebekah informed them. "They got all of the potential power ready to unleash when the child reached the appropriate age and none of the headache of a witch they wouldn't be able to mold as they saw fit. If her consciousness had gone along with the power they would have had a fight on their hands for control. This way, they didn't need to worry about it. Or well, they wouldn't have if they had actually kept their hands on the child. Pity that."

"So who got the baby?" one of the witches asked, and it took Caroline a second to realize that he was deferring to her for an answer.

"Marcel, the vampire king of New Orleans," Caroline told him.

" _Current,_ " Klaus interrupted as a reminder, and it took all of her control not to scoff at his answer.

"Current vampire king of New Orleans. Still debatable who will be the next one," she continued, smirking at Klaus who simply arched a brow at her, waving for her to continue. "He has her and is somehow using her to track when any of them do magic and killing those who use it without his permission. Along with the homeless for fun, compelling and brutalizing tourists for fun and I am pretty sure that's just the tip of the iceberg kind of thing."

"Technically what happens to the homeless is a city service," Rebekah pointed out, ignoring all of the hostile looks directed her way. "Well it is and it's quite a satisfying way for them to go if you feed correctly." There were some audible scoffs at the statement and she raised her head high. "Oh, I'm sorry, do my feeding habits offend you, little witch?"

The witch in question rose, ready to fight, and Caroline sighed. "Sit down," she ordered, surprised when the witch in question immediately did so. "And Rebekah please stop baiting everyone. I expect that from your brother."

"I don't answer to you," Rebekah started, glaring over at Caroline, and shrugged off Klaus' hand from her arm. "Well I  _don't._  I do not care if she is the Harbinger or that you're in lo-"

"That's  _enough_ , Rebekah," Klaus growled, interrupting her before she could finish her statement and glaring at her in warning. "If you don't think that you can sit quietly through the proceedings then why don't you go tend to our guest?"

"Fine." Rebekah disappeared from the room before another word could be said.

"You were saying?" Klaus gestured for Caroline to continue. Caroline forced herself to look away from Klaus. She knew what Rebekah was going to say and somehow hearing it from the other girl only seemed to make it more real and that only made it that much harder to ignore, but she forced any emotions about Klaus' feelings for her down and out of the way.

_Big picture, Care._

"I still need to get in contact with the humans in charge of here," Caroline began, because there was little doubt in her mind that there was a human group playing a part in everything. Caroline figured not all of them could be oblivious to what was happening. Just take a look at her hometown. The Council knew all about the supernatural elements, had plans in place to deal with them, made deals with them when needed. She figured something like that had to be happening in New Orleans as well. She just worried about corruption, knowing that was something that could definitely be happening. "Which actually...wait."

Caroline picked her bag up from the ground beside her, rifling through it for a moment. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, waiting to see what she was up to and while a part of her found it a little disturbing that they were looking to  _her_ for guidance and knowledge, another part of her was definitely eating it up. She hadn't become Miss Mystic Falls or head cheerleader or been in charge of countless dance committees by being a wallflower.

She sunk down onto the floor in front of the coffee table, placing her notebook on the table. "So we've got Marcel who's-how old is he?" She glanced up at Klaus, arching a brow at his pleased smirk at what she was doing.

"Over two hundred," Klaus informed her, watching as she scrawled his former friend's name, age, and current ranking on the paper.

"So we have Marcel and the rest of his forces would be in blue like him-because I'll get some cards and we'll hash this damn thing out later but rough draft now. I'm going to need a list of everyone who you know that's under his regime," she commented, not looking up at Klaus as she started writing the names of the witches that she knew about. "And then we'll have our New Orleans witches in green. Followed by the wolves in yellow."

"I'd prefer green," Klaus pointed out, and she purposefully wrote his name in large letters and the word yellow beside it.

"I like yellow," she replied, jotting down his siblings and the names of the wolves she had met. "So the humans would be in red and I guess we'll all be in white?" Color coded system would help her figure out who all the players in the game were because it was becoming clear to Caroline that the list was a lot longer and more in depth than she had originally figured.

"We could add their strengths and weaknesses to the cards too," Caleb suggested, and Caroline held up the paper, showing she had already jotted that down as well "Patrick and I found out a little more about the witches so I can add to those cards." He slid down to sit beside Caroline and she handed him the pen so he could take over jotting down notes as well.

Caroline looked back up at the gathered group. "I like visuals."

"It's a good idea," Cecile commented, offering another smile and Caroline noticed that the other witches seemed to be nodding their agreement while Klaus was looking at her with a cross between barely contained desire and pride. She decided it might be best not to look at him for while with how that look made her insides clench with longing.

Besides, she had a million other questions that she needed answered. "So what exactly is it that you all do? Aside from take down Harbingers who have gone a little cuckoo?"

"I see you've been getting your history lessons from Mr. Mikaelson," Cecile commented, nodding toward Klaus who simply shrugged at the statement. As if he wouldn't warn Caroline about that prospect. Not that he would allow for them to do any such thing to the girl. "We're your backup. We're here to protect your family and friends once those who learn of you want to force your hand in their favor. Which I must ask you to answer truthfully now, Caroline, has Klaus or any in his family done so?"

As soon as she was done asking her question two things happened simultaneously. The witches aside from Caleb and his grandmother were all on their feet, single hand rose in Klaus' direction and the Hybrid had doubled over in pain on the floor. He didn't scream no cry came from his mouth even though it was open in raw pain. Caroline realized they must be silencing him, not wanting Rebekah to hear the commotion and come to his rescue.

Caroline rose at once, shrugging off Caleb's hand as he tried to pull her back down. She may have been pissed at Klaus for forcing her confrontation with Tyler ahead of when she wanted it to happen, but he didn't deserve to have his brain scrambled. Or maybe he did for a million other things he'd done in his life, maybe this was justice finally catching up with him, but she couldn't stand by and watch him kneeling on the ground in torment. It reminded her of when he'd been tormented by Silas, staring up at her with anguish and she had tried to hold out then, to use it to her own advantage, but there was nothing she wanted from him that required this kind of tactic. And she didn't want him in pain, didn't like the thought of him hurting because of her.

She headed toward him, the witches dropping their hands as soon as she neared them. "No," Caroline informed the group and helped Klaus to his feet, purposefully blocking him from the others. Though that was less for his benefit and more for the witches. She knew he wouldn't react well to having been harmed. "He's been protecting my mother and Rebekah helped me out a few days ago dealing with some of Marcel's idiots."

Now her aunts were an entirely different story, but Caroline knew that in his own twisted way that wasn't Klaus trying to force her hand. Even the deal with Caleb and locking the boy in the room hadn't been done in order to get her to do anything. Everything Klaus had done was because he worried for her safety. He just had a really twisted way of going about it sometimes.

Caroline could sense that he was ready to kill, to exact pain on each of the witches for the pain they had momentarily caused him. She kept her hands on him, one hand on his back and the other clutching hold of his shirt, trying to get him to stay beside her, willing him to not do anything rash. "Sit down," she urged, feeling him tense beneath her hands, still ready to launch himself at the room and tear them all apart.

From the wary glances in Klaus' direction and the tension that seemed to permeate the room, Caroline could only guess that they were all waiting for the Hybrid to attack. After all, if they knew his reputation then it was what he would have usually done. "I suggest you keep your parlor tricks to yourself from now on,  _witch,_ " Klaus demanded, and the way he said witch made it sound like an insult, like something far beneath his own status. "Or I will not show such leniency next time."

"Don't threaten my coven," Caroline grumbled, now resorting to try and push him back down to sit. Klaus grasped her hand and the witches tensed.

"Don't," Caleb warned, shaking his head at those who looked ready to attack again.

"They threatened me!" Klaus pointed out, staring down at her as he gestured at the men and women who had done so.

"Well," Caroline pursed her lips, pushing at him again. Seriously if he would simply sit down this would not be as big of an issue. "Technically shouldn't you be happy they'll face really big threats in order to keep me safe?" From the incredulous look Klaus was directing at her she didn't quite think he bought it. "And please, you get threatened by witches all the time. This is like a Tuesday for you. No slicing off their heads with graduation caps though." She could feel him relaxing under her hands, knowing her continual speaking was distracting him from his anger.

The arched brow he directed at her told Caroline that Klaus knew exactly what she was doing, but he sat down nonetheless, pulling her down to sit beside him. "Right, so," Caroline looked back out at the group of witches who were slowly sitting back down. She fixed her hair under all of their suspicious gazes that alternated between her and Klaus before she glanced over at Caleb. The young witch simply shook his head at her. She was on her own for this one. "Klaus is not my enemy."

Currently at least and god, how Caroline hoped it would stay that way, but she didn't have a crystal ball. Considering the way Rebekah had so brazenly spoke of killing the homeless maybe them being on the same side wouldn't be able to last forever and that thought scared Caroline. "Let's get back to you guys though. Are you going to be bound to the city like the New Orleans witches are?" Because that could cause some problems. While the other witches could do some simple spells, it didn't seem they could do anything very big considering Davina had most of the power.

"No, our magic is not ancestral as it is here in New Orleans. They can only use the magic of their dead ancestors, drawing on the energy from where their ancestors have died," Cecile informed her. "If they leave the city they will have no power. While many in our bloodlines may be adept at practicing magic, we will all grow into it at varying degrees."

"We're more a mix of spiritual and traditional aspects," one of the witches added. "We can call on any spirit for help, unlike those here who can only call on their own."

Caroline nodded. "So like my friend Bonnie before she got into Expressionism." She noted how the other witches mouths seemed to twist in distaste at that word. "She's a Bennett witch. Maybe if she came down she'd be able to add to our forces? I just have to actually get her on the phone. We've been playing this weird phone tag game all summer…"

Caroline stopped talking as she watched the others in the room aside from Klaus all begin to look down. Some of them were scratching the backs of their necks, others fiddling with their clothes, their hair, but one thing they had in common was that none of them were looking at her any longer. "I know expressionism is like a big no-no, but she's off that type now,' Caroline continued, glancing over at Klaus when still none of them would look directly at her. He shrugged; clearly as in the dark as she was about what was happening.

"Has no one informed you?" Cecile finally asked, and Caroline didn't like the sympathy in the woman's eyes, that look that went hand-in-hand with someone offering up bad news. Caroline shook her head, unsure what there even was to inform her. "Bonnie Bennett won't be able to help you, child. She's dead."

"No, she's not," Caroline rose, pulling out her cell, and scrolling down to the texts. "See. I got texts from her earlier today. She's with her mom on a road trip." So what if she wasn't answering voicemails in their usual away or picking up for hour long chat sessions. That was still communicating.

"We all felt it," one of the other witches murmured. "The moment her line ceased to exist. She was the last Bennett witch, that kind of death has a ripple effect through our communities."

Caroline shook her head. "It's  _right here_ ," she stated, shaking the phone, holding it up for the woman to see. "All 'hey Care. we're in Seattle now. hope you're having fun. my mom says hi'." Bonnie was with her mother. Apparently these witches were not as powerful as they thought if they could get something like that wrong.

"I didn't know how to tell you," Caleb began and she whirled toward him. Not him too. No, Caleb, she silently pleaded with him to shut up.

"Caroline," Klaus was standing, doing that damn annoying crowd her space move again and she shifted away from him, wanting to prove all of them wrong. She dialed Bonnie's number, willing the girl to pick up and when that didn't happen she stamped her foot in frustration and dialed Elena's number. She bet Elena had talked to her and then they would all see.

"Caroline!" Elena answered, and she could hear Jeremy and Damon in the distance arguing about something. "How's your road trip?"

_Jeremy_.

"It's fine," Caroline said. "Just wanted to see if you'd heard from Bonnie?"

"Oh yeah, she emailed me the other day. Her mom and her are in Seattle? I think that's it," Elena told her before calling out for her brother to put something down. Her brother who had been _dead_  and now wasn't.

Nothing ever came back for free. Wasn't that the first rule of witchcraft? That there had to be a balance and if Bonnie had brought Jeremy back then what had she given up for that to happen. "I have to go," Caroline said, hanging up before Elena could answer.

She dropped the phone, shaking her head as she pressed her hands to her ears, willing what they had said to not be true. Bonnie was alive, she was in Seattle with her mother, not trapped on the Other Side. They were going to college in a few months, they had a triple room. Bonnie was going to start out as an Undecided Major and just take the basics at first. They were going to go shopping for dorm bedding and decorations in a few weeks, pick a color scheme and start a new chapter in their lives, all together.

"No no no no no," Caroline cried pulling at her hair as she shook her head, trying to erase the words that they had said from her mind. "She's not dead." Tears were threatening to fall and she tried to force them back in because crying would mean it was real and oh god this couldn't be real.

"When? When did she die?" She wondered for a half a second if it had been while she was out on the road, but Jeremy had been back before then and she just knew his life was connected to Bonnie's death.

Cecile murmured the date and it slammed into Caroline like a ton of bricks, causing her to collapse to her knees. Graduation. Oh god. Bonnie had been dead since…" _ **NO!**_ " she screamed, hugging her herself tightly as every light in the house that wasn't on simultaneously switched on, all of the lights growing too bright for their bulbs and shattering into millions of pieces.

Caroline pressed her face into her knees; trying to force the tears back down as she thrashed her head, fighting with herself. Light poured out of her, surrounding her body and seeping into the air around her. Everyone stepped backward, knowing exactly what that meant for any of them if it touched them for too long. She didn't hear what any of them were saying, too lost in her own breakdown to focus on anything aside from her own muttered "no's" as she tried to will her best friend back into existence.

It was all too much to face at once. The death of another dream and  _god_  hadn't she given up enough of those already. Not Bonnie too. And what about her friend's body? Where was that? Was she lying all alone in some unmarked grave or never even buried? Bonnie deserved so much more than that.

It couldn't be real.

"She needs to be stopped," one of the witches cried out, stepping away from the turbulent light. It grazed one member of the group, burning him and he was dragged back further across the room, another member trying to heal his wounds.

"This isn't good, Cecile, this lack of control," another started, shaking her head, her voice full of contempt for what was happening.

"She doesn't know she's even doing it," Caleb protested, sensing that some of the others also wanted to put her down. "She's been a Harbinger for like a month. Has known about everything  _for like a month_  and you all just told her that her best friend is dead. How did you think she'd react?"

"The boy is right," Klaus bit out, something he didn't want to admit about the witch, but if this Coven even dared to harm one hair on her head he would destroy them all before they could breathe.

"This is none of your concern," the first witch challenged him, and he was across the room in a heartbeat, pinning the woman to the wall.

"The moment you pushed her into this damn position it became my concern," he growled, ready to rip the woman's head off. After what they had done to him only moments ago and now how they dared to threaten Caroline's well-being  _in his house_...Caroline would understand if she came to her senses and found her Coven dead around her. The boy could live. Perhaps his grandmother. He was confident that he could have the rest disposed of before they could react.

"Klaus!" Caleb shouted, knowing the Hybrid was only instigating more fear to spread in the room and very afraid what Klaus might do if he truly believed Caroline was in trouble. "Caroline wouldn't want you to hurt anyone."

Klaus pressed his hand to the woman's chest, nails tearing her clothes and digging into her flesh. Maybe the girl wouldn't want their deaths but she would forgive him eventually.

Cecile ignored the lot of them, watching Caroline carefully and deducing that her grandson was indeed correct in his assessment. The girl didn't know she was sending out the power from her body, she was simply grieving her lost friend, and the light was an unfortunate side effect of her sorrow. "Put Karmyn down, Mr. Mikaelson," Cecile ordered, stepping toward Caroline but remaining out of the light's path and she raised a hand toward Klaus., "and help me figure out how to calm Caroline down."

It was as though Klaus' hand was no longer under his control, pulling away from the witch who fell to the floor, panting in pain at the flesh he had managed to tear. "I suggest you release me," Klaus demanded, glaring at the elder witch. Perhaps he had been too hasty with deciding to keep her alive.

"Caroline needs our help right now. Not for any of you to lose control and do anything rash," Cecile replied, her answer berating everyone in the room. "We need to wake her to what she is doing so that she will stop this nonsense."

No one was able to offer up any suggestions as Rebekah had decided to venture back to the room at that moment. "Is there a reason all of the damn lights-oh bloody hell, is this room ever going to survive a week without someone destroying it?" Rebekah demanded as she entered the room. She stopped, silently assessing the situation before turning her attention to the source of light. "I see I've missed the fun part of the discussion."

She headed straight toward Caroline, ignoring the protests for her to stay away, and hissed as the light burned her skin. She ignored the pain and quickly grabbed onto the girl's arms. She then did her trademark slap across Caroline's cheek.

And just like that the light was drawn back into Caroline who looked up Rebekah through tear filled eyes. But this time there was no witty remark, no 'seriously' said in regards to the slap. She stared at the Original, at a loss for what to do any more. Rebekah stared back down at her and couldn't bring herself to impart a witty comment either.

"Now, why don't you and I go get a blood bag while the rest of them put this room back into order, hmm?" Rebekah suggested, and all Caroline could do was nod at the suggestion, following Rebekah from the room.

"She was able to stand," Karmyn gasped, trying not to move as one of her brethren tended to her wound.

"You might not be able to soon," Klaus informed her, wondering if he should tear off her legs first, torture her a little, or simply get it over with and tear out her heart. Cecile couldn't keep this spell on him forever. Maybe he wouldn't be able to kill her today or tomorrow but there would come a day when he would hold her heart in his hands. "And what does it matter if Caroline was able to still stand?"

"You've been around a number of Harbingers before, haven't you?" Cecile asked, and Klaus glanced back at the older witch.

"And what if I have?" he asked, not entirely certain what that had to do with anything.

"Caroline just used a great deal lot of her essence, exerted an abundance of the light. Think back to what happened whenever any other Harbinger did such a thing?" Cecile continued, and Klaus remembered how weak the others had been. Needing members of the Coven's help to stand, some sleeping for days before they could do the same trick again if it had been a lot of energy. "It's why the Harbinger's body is impervious to physical harm. They exert so much energy after doing what Caroline just did-though usually that energy is used on others-that they need to recharge and need to do so without worry of dying."

All thoughts of vengeance disappeared at that revelation, realizing what this could mean. Caroline healed faster than any Harbinger before her. Therefore if she did somehow need to give up the power, it didn't mean she would suffer the same fate as the others. She might come out of that alive. Not that he would take the chance at that not being the case, but he knew Caroline, and if she thought it was the way to save the people she loved she would give up the power in a heartbeat. This might be added insurance that she would be okay.

"Interesting," Klaus murmured, stepping back and turning around to look at the elder witch. "Why don't you release me of this little spell and we'll go finish our chat with Caroline in the kitchen. The boy can come along, perhaps another of your coven as well, but I think we've established by now that it's best if the majority stay as far away from me as possible, hmm?

He glanced deliberately at the injured witch and Cecile nodded. "I'll lift it once we're all in the kitchen." Klaus nodded and headed off, not bothering to wait for them. Caleb collected the paper and pen that had been tossed around during the commotion and hurried after him, needing to see how Caroline was dealing with everything.

Cecile sighed. She had known it would be difficult to have a Harbinger that was also a vampire. Current biases would need to be pushed down and she sincerely doubted how possible that would be for all, but the Coven had seemed to warm up to Caroline up until the light incident. Her talks with her grandson over the last week had helped to paint a picture of the girl and any lingering doubts had been quickly snuffed once she had seen her in action-not only with the color coded index cards but her ability to somewhat calm Niklaus Mikaelson had been something one would need to see to believe.

While she could see the benefits that relationship might allow them, the drawbacks were just as numerous, and from how he had reacted to the mere mention of harm coming to the girl, she knew they were dealing with a very dangerous livewire. "Richard and Kristyn. I'll have the two of you come with me to finish this meeting. Jerome, I want you to stay behind with two of your choosing to stand guard," Cecile instructed, feeling as though a storm was definitely coming to knock on the door. "The rest of you go the Harbinger house and get us settled. Make sure Karmyn gets the rest she needs."

"Will she be coming back with you?" Kristyn asked, glancing toward the doorway. "She can't stay….we've never had one live with  _vampires_  before."

"We've never had one who is a vampire before," Cecile reminded, and gestured toward the door. "Now do as I say and gather your strength because this is only the beginning."

* * *

Marcel took the steps two at a time as he made his way to the attic where Davina resided. He had tentative plans later on with Cami, and was currently trying to decide precisely how to wine and dine that woman. At the same time another blonde was on his mind, and he needed to figure out how best to play her, to take her from under Klaus' wing and turn her into something the other man would despise. Destroying the pretty little vampire would be another nail in the coffin he was planning to cement around his old friend, securing his position as leader of New Orleans once and for all.

He had always known Klaus might come back one day, planned for the eventuality, even if he had hoped Mikael would finally make good and kill the Hybrid. Instead, Klaus had broken his own curse, becoming more powerful than any of them, and if the rumor mill was true then he had also finally killed the vampire who had hunted him for centuries. Which meant one card in his pocket was obsolete and the Hybrid wouldn't need to be on the run any longer. But Marcel had Davina in his corner, and he truly believed she would be the key to helping him rid his town of Klaus for good. Even if she couldn't kill him, if she could simply ban him from ever stepping foot in the city limits again, like had happened to Valencia all those years ago, that would be enough for Marcel.

Marcel wasn't going to give up all he had worked so hard to mold into his image. Not without a fight. Not without taking away everything he possibly could from Klaus.

"Tell me you have news…" he started, voice light and full of cheer as he entered the room. It quickly faded though as he found the girl unconscious on the floor. Her hands were covered in blood, some of it smeared onto the floor around her, but it was the painting that had captured his attention.

His death.

She had painted his death.

His death at the hands of the Harbinger if the symbol above the girl in the painting was any indication.

Marcel bounded down the stairs, stopping only to bark at the help to make sure Davina was okay before heading toward the club. He needed to get his group together, to search out this girl who would be the one to rip his heart from his chest, who would bring down the Kingdom that he had  _fought for_. That was  _his_. He would not go down without a fight, would rip each damn witch from her home to do as he bid them, to find the faceless girl-this new Harbinger-who seemed destined to murder him, and stop it from ever coming to pass.

"Marcel!" he heard Ollie yell from behind him, and he whirled around on his heel, not surprised to see the vampire step back in fear.

Marcel knew he must have looked frightening. "What?" he snarled, annoyed by the distraction.

"Witches in the Quarter," Ollie started, and Marcel turned around, not caring for the moment about that. He'd have someone else deal with it later. "No. Not  _our_  witches. These ones aren't from here and from the number of them, I'd say it's a full coven."

That had him stopping in his tracks and turning back around, flashing to the vampire in a second. "Where?" he demanded, knowing that wherever the Harbinger went, the Leseid Coven was never far behind. He listened to Ollie say the location before ordering him to round up as many Nightwalkers as possible and then headed toward his club. He needed his Lieutenants with him, at his side and ready to deal with the probable threat that had come undetected into their playground.

It was true that witches could hurt them, but Marcel had learned that if he had enough vampires to outweigh the witch-vampire ratio, he could usually get the upper hand. And if nothing else, it couldn't hurt to put a little fear in the hearts of everyone who knew who he was and show that siding with this new group or  _any_  group that wasn't his would mean nothing but death for all involved.

* * *

"Oh get over yourselves," Rebekah snapped, shoving another blood bag into Caroline's hands. The girl had been through an ordeal and clearly hadn't been taking care of her own vampire needs in the past few days so she needed to eat and the two witches who were watching the whole thing with a look of disgust were getting on Rebekah's last nerve. "Would you prefer offering her a bite to eat? Because I'm sure that would be better than this bagged variety."

She preferred from the vein, but knew Caroline wouldn't want to indulge drinking in that way. "And ignore them, Caroline," she ordered, sitting down beside the baby vampire again. "Drink or I will shove that down your throat."

"Such manners, Rebekah," Klaus commented, striding into the room as he hung up the phone call he had been busying himself with. "You'll be happy to know that Agatha says your mother is in good spirits. If a little on edge with revealing the Gilbert boy's apparent fake death to the rest of your tiny town." He knew that must have been how the Bennett witch had met her fate, allowing Jeremy to once again be among the living. What a waste of a sacrifice.

Caroline nodded, her mind still reeling with what had been revealed about her best friend. She needed to let Elena know. Did she tell Bonnie's dad? Maybe her mom could figure out where Bonnie's body was? Wait. Jeremy. He could talk to ghosts. Maybe he could communicate with Bonnie? Or maybe he had been doing that all along? How else would she have started to receive text messages that sounded like her friend had been writing them?

"Thanks," she murmured, finishing off the blood bag and shaking her head when Rebekah went to take out another. "I'm fine."

"You still look peckish to me," Rebekah told her, cocking her head slightly as she looked her over. "Or maybe that's just your sorry excuse for makeup. Whichever it is, try not to fry the entire household again."

Caroline pressed her lips together at that, regretting what she had done in the other room and also confused about how the Original was treating her. One minute she was helpful and the next she was just as easily verbally tearing her down. It was practically par for the course for the two of them. Caroline knew she was supposed to have another retort to say back, but she simply waved her off, too mentally exhausted to even bother with it.

Klaus slid onto the seat beside her, and she could feel his gaze sliding over her, trying to assess her well-being. She also noticed the witches watching them, silently waiting to see how she reacted to his look. They were going to drive her mad and if the fact she wanted Rebekah to continue on with her snarky remarks to at least fill up the silence was any indication, Caroline was certain she was already halfway there.

"I'm not dying or anything so all of you can just stop with the unnecessary doting," Caroline grumbled, hating that she was being bitchy when they were only concerned, but she couldn't handle it right then. She wanted to shift the focus from her to Bonnie. To her friend's family who probably had no clue that she was dead either. And Stefan...she hadn't heard from him either. Not really. Was he...?

"Have you either of you talked to Stefan?" She anxiously looked between the two Originals, hoping that one of them may have been in some sort of contact with him even if Caroline couldn't figure out for the life of her why they would have been.

"I'm currently indulging in a Salvatore free summer," Rebekah informed her, slipping onto her own chair.

"Afraid not, love," Klaus told her, but he frowned, sensing where Caroline's thought process was headed. He knew she had been playing phone tag with the vampire as well. "I'll have someone look into it."

Caroline nodded, knowing that was probably her best option at the moment for locating Stefan. She couldn't exactly leave New Orleans and had no clue where he might be on his so-called road trip. "We need to discuss the next course of action, Caroline," Cecile stated, steering the conversation back toward where Caroline knew it needed to be.

"I think we need to learn who all of the players are before we can really figure that out," she replied, glancing over at the notebook that was in front of Caleb. "And to gather as much intel as possible about each of key ones. Who they trust, their strengths, their weaknesses, what their exact purpose is in this town."

"And what then?" Kristyn demanded. "Obviously you'll side with your own. With  _them_." The outright hatred on her face toward Klaus and Rebekah was off-putting and Caroline wondered how the hell she was supposed to trust this Coven when she knew so many of them must be thinking the same as the woman in front of her.

She could feel Klaus tense beside her, could almost see what he would do if the woman kept making accusations he didn't particularly care for, and she knew she needed to end this conversation now before it became a rehash of whatever had occurred in the other room when she had been dealing with her own chaos.

"Okay, seriously,  _no._  You need to drop the attitude," Caroline started, brushing her hair out of her face. "Get it through your thick skull that I am here to restore  _the balance_. Just like every Harbinger before me. And  _yes_  I'm a vampire and oh look the situation here just happens to involve vampires screwing with the balance. But  _guess what_  it also involves witches who fucked with it as well. So I could hold all my witchy biases against all of them and all of you-because really I only trust two witches in my life and one of them is right there." She paused, nodding toward Caleb, "The other I just found out died. So I could say screw the witches because obviously the only good witch is a banished witch or whatever, but I like this thing where you give people the benefit of the doubt until they give you no reason to trust them."

Caroline stood up, wanting this line of the conversation to end. "So you can either deal with the fact that your Harbinger is a vampire or you can leave. Because I don't want anyone hanging around that could stab me or those I do trust in the back at some later point. Door is that way. Feel free to use it."

She just knew that Klaus was smiling that damn smug smirk after her little speech. She hadn't expected to see the pleased looks on Caleb or his grandmother's faces as well. "I'm not leaving," Kristyn muttered, but there was still that defiant look in her eyes that had Caroline questioning her loyalty.

"Swear allegiance then," Caleb suggested, and everyone but Caroline looked at him in astonishment. She arched a brow at him, wondering what he meant by that.

"You cannot be serious," Kristyn blanched, looking at him as though he had lost his mind.

"Seems keeping you around wasn't such a waste," Klaus approved, leaning back in his chair at the chaos the boy's suggestion seemed to be creating among the witches at the table.

"No Coven has sworn that in centuries," Richard pointed out, sweat forming on his forehead as he looked around at all the players at the table.

"Because it hasn't needed to be," Caleb muttered, glaring at the two witches he had used to call family. But if they weren't one hundred percent behind Caroline then he knew they needed to leave and this was the best way to determine who would actually mean it when they said they would help.

"Okay, someone want to explain to me what that even means? Like I get the whole they'd be swearing loyalty to me part, but well?" Caroline asked, confused as to how that was really helpful. It was easy enough to fake loyalty, to say the words, but it hardly meant they'd be upheld.

"It's binding," Cecile told her, thinking her grandson might have been onto something. "If it is broken the witch bursts into flames." Caroline frowned at that, knowing it had to be a gruesome way to die.

"Oh I do hope one of them breaks it," Rebekah murmured, leaning forward to inspect the witches a little better. "It's such a pretty sight when that happens." From the disgusted looks directed her way, it was obvious the witches did not' agree with that assessment.

It wasn't really something Caroline wanted to have happen, the witches bursting into flame or even swearing their allegiance, but she also knew risking that there would be those who would stay around only to sabotage future plans wasn't a viable option either. "If only those who choose to stay and help swear allegiance…can I let the others go freely back to their families? Or are they bound to stay with the Coven?" That was fair, wasn't it? It allowed them the choice.

"We are at your disposal, Caroline," Cecile reminded, and Caroline could tell the older woman was pleased with her questions. "If that is what you decreed then it would be so."

"Or you can force their allegiance," Klaus pointed out, glancing between the witches across the table. Cecile narrowed her eyes at the idea, clearly unimpressed with his suggestion. "The more you have at your beck and call, the better."

He was right in a way and Caroline knew that. It would be better to have more of them to bolster her strength because there was little doubt in her mind that everything was going to get very messy, very soon. "No," she shook her head, clearing it of what he said. "I won't have fabricated loyalty. I'd rather a few who I could truly trust than a thousand that I always worried could one day stab me in the back."

Before anyone could reply Jerome burst into the room. "We have a problem." From his frantic expression all of them knew it wasn't good. "There are about thirty vampires camped outside calling for us to come out and meet them. They know what coven we are, Cecile. They're asking for the Harbinger."

"Marcel," Klaus bit out, immediately rising to his feet. Like hell would he allow them to get anywhere near Caroline. He was tired of waiting to destroy that man and started toward the door, letting out a low growl when Caroline stepped into his path to block him.

"You can't," she reminded, having a pretty good idea what was going through his mind. They needed Marcel alive so they could free Davina, and Caroline just knew that Davina needed to be freed for balance to be restored to the city.

"Don't think I won't move you," he warned, grasping her by the shoulders and ready to do just that. Perhaps snap her neck as well to keep her from doing anything stupid for any of the others in the room. He could have Rebekah keep her safe until she recovered.

"Does he know who you are?" Cecile asked, and Caroline shook her head, hands closing over Klaus' to try and prevent him from doing what she knew he must have been considering. She didn't look forward to waking up from a snapped neck again anytime soon.

"No. He thinks I'm Klaus' latest pet," Caroline muttered and Klaus narrowed his eyes at that. He hated that anyone could think Caroline would have such a low status in his mind. He promised himself that Marcel would see exactly how high in regard he held her before he died.

"And that she's my friend from my high school experience," Rebekah added. "I don't think he knows anything about her role or he would never have condoned the vampires who tried to attack us earlier in the week."

"This house is now compromised," Cecile stated. "Thankfully, her identity isn't yet, but it will be if she remains here. We need to get her out of this house and to safety."

"Where do you suggest?" Klaus asked, keeping a firm hold on Caroline. He had a feeling she wouldn't like the way they were talking about her while she was in the room, that she would want to help whatever stance the witches took again Marcel, and he wasn't about to allow that to happen.

"Hers, of course," Kristyn replied, unable to keep from scoffing that he even had to ask.

"Does that place even have air conditioning?" Rebekah demanded, not relishing the idea of leaving behind her own valuables. "We could easily take them out." Thirty vampires would be nothing between her and Klaus. Throw in Patrick and it'd take in even less time.

"Um, excuse you guys, I am capable of taking care of myself and I've got quite a bit of power at my disposal," Caroline reminded. Did everyone just forget about the lightshow she had engaged in like half an hour before?

"No, we need the element of surprise if he hasn't put two and two together," Cecile told her. It would be their best bet if Marcel didn't learn who she was right away. It would keep him from gaining any leverage over Caroline, and vampire or not, she could tell that the girl did indeed care for others that he could easily harm to get her attention. While they had her mother under surveillance and protection spells on her, there was always the possibility of something happening to the woman or to her other friends that weren't currently protected but would need to be. They needed to be smart about this and keep her from the vampire's knowledge for as long as possible. "You need to get her out of here. Find another suitable dwelling. I'm sure you have more than one safe house in this city."

"Shall we, Rebekah?" Klaus asked, and his sister sighed, clearly unhappy with the situation.

"I really did like what you had done to my room," Rebekah pouted, knowing there was little point in fighting over it. Klaus would get his way just as he always did and Rebekah knew the witch had a point and keeping Caroline from Marcel's knowledge would help ensure his downfall. And that was something she meant to witness happen.

"Not without Caleb," Caroline demanded, remembering her own internal promise. He was going to live to a ripe old age, no matter what else happened. Maybe she couldn't save Bonnie but like hell she was going to let him die too.

Klaus looked over at Cecile who nodded her assent before he turned his attention to his sister. Rebekah sighed and took hold of the boy's arm. "The Coven will be at the old Harbinger place. We'll be in contact," Cecile told them, before gesturing toward the back door. "Now go."

She offered her grandson a smile before he and the others were gone before she could blink. "Are you sure that was wise? Letting her go with  _them?_ " Kristyn asked, uneasy with the whole thing.

"We'll discuss this later," Cecile replied, heading out toward the front door, the remaining members of the Coven hot on her heels. Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to let them go, to not know exactly where Klaus was taking the girl and her grandson, but she knew Caleb would remain in touch and something told her that Caroline would reach out to contact them as well. She grabbed a splintered off piece of wood from the floor, sliding it into the back of her belt as she stopped in front of the door.

"Ready yourselves. They know we're here."

She waved her hand, flinging the door open in front of her and stepped outside. The other witches stepped out behind her, hands raised and delivering the patented headache blast to all the vampires aside from Marcel. He stood among his falling comrades, smiling over at them.

"Cheap parlor tricks?" he tsked. "I expected better from the fabled Leseid Coven." He hadn't seen them with Valencia, only heard whispers of them after the woman had been banished and seen their shadows as they tended to her house over the years. He had expected something powerful, not this old woman and a few witches.

Cecile pulled the wooden stake from her belt and held it up for him to see. "Take your people and leave this house, Marcellus, son of Geoffrey and the slave Nydia," she urged him, and he arched a brow at the stake. This was the force that Klaus had told him about all of those years ago? They didn't even rival the New Orleans witches who he already had under his thumb.

"I think you'll find that one stake won't do much against this many of us," he pointed out, wondering if the old woman had lost her mind.

She raised it and then swiftly jammed it back down into her chest. It should have pierced her heart, her skin, but there was no mark left on her. His soldiers who were nearest to her fell over, dying as if they themselves had been staked. "Shall I continue?" she demanded, raising the stake to repeat the motion and Marcel stepped back, understanding what had happened. "As I said, take your soldiers and leave this house, Marcellus."

Marcel narrowed his eyes, beckoning back his group who was only too happy to get out of the line of fire. "Don't think I won't figure out who she is and destroy her just as I did Valencia," he growled, determined to stop the prophecy that Davina had painted from ever coming to pass. He had sacrificed too much, worked too hard to let some supernatural peacemaker take it from him.

Cecile simply thrust the stake back into her chest, destroying two more of his soldiers, unwilling to pay any notice to what the vampire said. The rest of the vampires scattered, not waiting to be told to run and leaving Marcel to stand alone in the street. "I will watch every last one of you burn" he screamed out, not caring who heard him, certain the witches were not doing anything to him because they knew of his connection to Davina. They would not be able to hurt him because of the girl and he meant to use that to his advantage.

He turned walking away then as he knew there was nothing further to say or to gain from the meeting. He would have the house watched and see who lived there, have the old Harbinger place under surveillance as well. No doubt they were trying to keep her identity a secret, but like all secrets they could only be kept for so long and he meant to be there once this one was told.

"Seal this place up," Cecile instructed, knowing they needed to bar any but those who had lived in the residence from reentering. There could be any number of things that could lead back to Caroline inside and she wasn't willing to take a chance that Marcel could rifle through it for answers. "And then let's return to our temporary home and decide our next step."

She knew there were fears allay, worries to put to rest and somehow she would muddle through it all as best she knew how.

* * *

Wolfsbane.

Tyler stared down at the clearly marked bottle that had been in the package with  _his name_ on the mailing label. Who had sent him it and why? Or even better how had they even known where he was living? It made no sense to him and he frowned down at the package, wondering what he was supposed to do with it. Did he tell Klaus? Elijah? Did he just get rid of it? He didn't want to talk to the Hybrid, not after how things had ended only hours ago with Caroline, but he also knew that he didn't want Klaus to think he was hiding anything from him either.

"You weren't supposed to get that," Hayley said, breaking Tyler from his thoughts and he saw her standing in the doorway, warily looking between him and the package in his hands.

What the hell did that even mean? He stared at her, trying to figure out what she would even have to do with the bottle. Hayley had to know how toxic wolfsbane was and what it could do to her unborn baby…. "No." Tyler shook his head at her, connecting the dots. "You cannot be serious." He lifted the receipt from the box, tearing it when he saw the last four digits of his credit card on the purchase. "What the hell Hayley?"

She was going to throw him to the wolves all over again. How could he have been so stupid?

"I can't have this baby, Tyler," Hayley pleaded, hand wrapping in her shirt. "It's not right. It shouldn't exist."

"It's a baby!" he shouted, unable to believe what he was hearing. Sure half of its genes were pure evil-and he was beginning to think maybe all of its genes were-but a baby couldn't be evil. It would be innocent. Aside from that she was  _using him,_ and not for the first time. Fool him once. He wouldn't let her do it again.

"So what do I do?" she demanded, astounded that he didn't understand where she was coming from. "Wait for it to finally be out of me, only to let Klaus kill me? Because you know that's what will happen. He'll get what he wants and I'll be dead." Not that he even wanted the kid, but she would still be the one left with nothing. Not even her own life.

Tyler raked a hand through his hair. It was a real possibility. He knew that, but he didn't like being used again. Especially by her. "So buy your own damn wolfsbane and leave me the hell out of it," he growled, knowing Klaus would learn of this and he would have made the perfect scapegoat. She could always say that he forced it on her and killed the baby and maybe Klaus wouldn't believe her-this wolf girl who lied so easily-but wouldn't that be the perfect excuse for Klaus to get rid of him?

"I'll just get rid of it and then the spell binding me here will be lifted and we can run, Tyler," Hayley told him, trying to make him understand. Couldn't he see that this was for the best? That this was their only chance? "Somewhere far away where he'll never find us."

"You have got to kidding," Tyler shook his head. He had been running from Klaus for months and never wanted to go back to living like that, always looking over his shoulder, certain the Hybrid knew where he was at all times and just waiting to swoop in and kill him. That wasn't living, that was barely existing and he wouldn't go back to that.

His cellphone buzzed and he pulled it out to see who was calling him. Hayley took his momentary distraction to rush at him, knocking the box to the ground and trying to get her hands on the bottle. She didn't need his approval, to hell with him, with all of them. She would do what she needed to and get the hell out of the town. Tyler saw what she was doing and tried to push her away from the rolling bottle as gently as he could.

Hayley snatched it up, trying to keep it from his grasp as he held his hand over the top, not allowing her to open it. "Well, isn't this cozy?" came from the doorway behind them, and Tyler lifted Hayley up, refusing to allow another distraction to give her what she wanted.

"Elena?" he asked, wondering what the hell she was doing in New Orleans. From her gleeful smile he knew he hadn't identified her correctly.

"Katherine," Hayley sneered, narrowing her eyes at the doppelganger that had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

Katherine smiled, clearly amused by the scene taking place before her. "Miss me, wolf?"


	16. Chapter 16

_Let me in the wall_  
_You've built around_  
_We can light a match  
_ _And burn it down_

* * *

Everything was a mess.

That was the only way Caroline could even think to describe the events of the past day. Tyler and she were officially over, she was pretty sure most of her coven hated her, Marcel knew about the coven and was no doubt trying to figure out who she was, and to top it all off, Bonnie was dead. She still couldn't wrap her head around that bit of information, no matter how hard she tried. Every time she thought about her friend it was like a hand was gripping her heart and squeezing it with all its strength. Losing her father had been hard, but at least she had been able to say goodbye to him. There had been no goodbyes for Bonnie, no funeral, nothing and Caroline didn't like that at all. Bonnie Bennett deserved so much more than to be dead in some random place without remembrance of whom she was and all that she had done.

Klaus set her down as soon as they entered the new safe house, Rebekah following behind him with Caleb barely a second later. Caroline knew she was supposed to be stepping away from the Hybrid then, putting as much distance as she could between them, but instead she kept holding onto his arm. She needed a moment, and she needed the strength he silently offered her, and did it really matter if she allowed that to happen in the presence of Rebekah and Caleb? The two of them were more than aware of whatever the hell it was that was happening between her and Klaus.

"I'm going to call Elijah," Rebekah told them all, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "The last thing we need is for him to get back from his trip and head to our previous residence."

She walked away without waiting for a reply and Caleb stuffed his hands into his pockets, rocking on the balls of his feet for a moment as he awkwardly looked around the room. "I'm gonna go finish writing down what Patrick and I learned," he said, holding up the notebook for added measure before also disappearing from the room.

"Caroline," Klaus started, and she shook her head, fingers tightening around his arm.

"Don't talk," she whispered, closing her eyes as she tried to make sense of the mess that was her mind. "I swear you mess up everything when you talk."

He chuckled at that, his hands sliding from her shoulders and down her back as he rested his forehead against her own. She let go of him and could feel him stiffen, ready to pull back from her and give the space he assumed she desired, but Caroline shifted forward, fingers clutching at his shirt as she rested her head against his chest. It took him a moment to react, but eventually he wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her tightly to him. His other hand moved up to her hair, running through it as he held her close.

Klaus knew that this was Caroline seeking comfort, and he was reminded of circumstances that had occurred between them a few months prior. Back then he had spurned her need, too hurt by what she had said to him to offer any sort of sympathy. The hurt in her eyes as she had fled from him had Klaus instantly regretting the decision even if he wouldn't allow himself to run after her. He was always the one trotting along after Caroline Forbes and his pride wouldn't allow him to do it again that night. He wouldn't make the same choice then, giving her what she needed instead.

"Caroline," he started again, smiling when she shook her head against his chest, still not willing to let him talk.

It felt like everything hurt to Caroline, her head, her body, but most of all her heart. Knowing Bonnie was dead was throwing her for more of a loop than she had ever imagined could happen. She couldn't cry though. Caroline knew that if she started crying she wouldn't be stopping anytime soon and they couldn't afford to lose more minutes in the middle of this crazy war. But god how she wanted to just break down, forget the rest of the world for a few minutes and just sob her heart out into Klaus' chest. Unfortunately if she allowed herself to do that her damn Harbinger powers would probably also erupt forth and she couldn't handle another episode like in the other living room happening again.

So Caroline stayed in his arms for a few minutes, breathing him in. Klaus' presence was helping to ground her, the light show that desperately wanted to burst forth because of her multitude of emotions diminished, and she slowly regained control. It took Caroline a moment to realize exactly how she felt as she stood there holding onto Klaus and allowing him to hold her as well. There was supposed to be banter happening, or possibly angry words yelled at one another as an inevitable argument passed between them, some flirting that she tried to play off as just the way she talked to everybody even though Caroline  _knew_  she didn't look at everyone else the way she caught herself looking at Klaus.

She certainly wasn't supposed to feel safe, but that was exactly how she felt as she kept her eyes closed, hands twisted in his shirt, his own soothingly running up and down her back. She felt absolutely safe, protected and another emotion she wouldn't give name to yet because of how much it scared her even though it was what Caroline craved the most out of life.

This man confused the hell out of her and yet at other times she seemed to understand him completely. People who ripped out hearts were not supposed to be able to hold someone so gently, with such care. People who submerged drunken mothers' heads into fountains weren't supposed to send pleasant shivers down her spine with just a simple caress of their hand on her back. People who had murdered her friend, her friend's aunt, and so many others weren't supposed to make her feel like she was this cherished being by just holding her close.

And yet, Caroline knew the world wasn't that black and white, it hadn't been for a long time. Blood red tinged the entire landscape of her world now and hadn't she also done terrible things? Not to the extent Klaus had, but like that night with Stefan she couldn't help but wonder if that was only because of how long Klaus had lived compared to all of them. Hadn't she killed those witches to protect Bonnie, killed deputies to protect Damon and Stefan and herself? How big was her body count in the year and some months that she had been a vampire? And she was still able to smile, to laugh, to offer comfort to her friends even though she had done her own terrible things. So it didn't surprise her that under all of those layers of harshness, of self-imposed and cultivated darkness that Klaus was capable as well.

Caroline didn't want to focus on the whys though or the hows or anything that involved analyzing anything that was happening in that moment. All Caroline wanted to do was allow them both to enjoy the moment for a tiny bit longer, taking the strength he freely gave her even as she offered him back some of her own. She'd let her mind race away with itself later that night.

Eventually Caroline pulled away, stepping back from him, and was grateful that Klaus let her go without a word. "So I'm pretty sure 90% of my coven hates me," Caroline murmured, needing to break the tension that had permeated the air during their embrace.

She walked away from him then, heading to one of the windows to look out at the city. They were in another part, one she hadn't seen before, and she watched as the people walked by. The crowd outside seemed as though they belonged in the city, moving as though they knew where they were headed, not stopping to point out this and that as the tourists did. "That's gotta be a first, right?" Caroline continued, glancing over her shoulder at him.

Klaus was gazing at her with that all-encompassing look that always had her feeling like he could see into her very soul. She looked away, trying to cover up the shiver that ran down her spine, and swallowed hard. Caroline couldn't handle that look at the moment.

"So, I need index cards," she told him, turning around, entering business mode. There was so much they needed to get done, to figure out, and she had always been a visual person. "Preferably colored ones but white will do if I can also have some colorful Sharpies."

"Index cards?" Klaus asked amused by the request and knowing full well she wasn't going to want to discuss what had just passed between them. He'd settle now for enjoying the fact that she had initiated the contact with him.

"There are like fifty bazillion people involved in this thing-okay  _maybe_  not quite that many, but I want to keep track of them all and maybe if we have it all nicely laid out so we can see it all at once, we'll notice some missing links or whatever," Caroline replied, already visualizing exactly how her chart would look once she was done with it. She clasped her hands behind her back, looking Klaus over and trying to determine how open he was going to be to what she suggested next. "So since I'm probably not allowed out of the house right now, and Rebekah is busy contacting your brother, could you possibly run out and get some for me?"

She flashed him a brilliant smile and from the arched brow and charming smile he reciprocated, Caroline had a feeling she was going to get what she needed. "Don't make me hunt you down, love," Klaus warned, and she knew that he would. Considering he had been able to do that when she had been camping out in Georgia, Caroline figured finding her in New Orleans would be even easier.

Not that she was planning on running anyway. "I'll be too busy calling my mom to think of skipping out," Caroline promised, and while her tone had been playful she still noted the brief worry that passed through Klaus' eyes before his jovial smile was once again directed her way. "Really, Klaus, I'm not going anywhere."

He held her gaze for a moment before nodding and then he was gone to find what she had requested.

Caroline took a needless breath, steeling herself for the conversation that she knew needed to happen with her mother. If anyone could find Bonnie's body it would be Liz Forbes and then maybe her friend could finally get some rest.

* * *

Katherine walked around the still struggling duo to take a seat on the couch. She had managed to sneak past those who had been on guard outside. Watching them for long enough she had noticed the pattern to their movements, all the while trying to look like nothing more than the gardeners or housekeepers employed by the family who lived inside, but she had noted how they made their way around the entire exterior every hour, keeping an eye on all the exits and entryways to the house.

It amused her that they seemed to be more interested in keeping something  _inside_  the house instead of keeping anyone out. But she was going to need the cooperation of the other two if she was going to be allowed to remain in the house for any length of time and she hadn't come this far for her entire plan to fall apart because of two hapless teenagers.

"If we're done with the dramatic suicide attempt, could we maybe get down to some actual business?" she suggested, bouncing a little as she sat down. "Unless you'd rather keep on fighting with one another instead of bringing down Klaus once and for all?"

She couldn't help but smile as that question had snapped both of them into ceasing their struggle. Hayley let go of the bottle, staring at Katherine. "I'm pretty sure that's the same lie you told me about four months ago and all it got me was pregnant and trapped by psycho Hybrid and his brother in a town I don't want to be in," she snapped, annoyed that Tyler had taken that moment to flash away and when he returned the damn bottle was no longer in his hands.

"And you can't bring him down, Katherine, you'll die if you do," Tyler reminded, wondering if the centuries old vampire had finally lost it. Considering he was pretty sure he had been going insane and had only been on the run from Klaus for a few months, Katherine had to have gone nuts after five centuries of running.

"That's if I killed him and you'd be surprised how circumstances change and that wouldn't actually do much to me anymore," she replied, glancing around the study they were currently in. Technically she was human and that might mean if Klaus died it wouldn't affect her, but it wasn't something she was about to chance either. Just as she wouldn't chance being turned back into a vampire at the moment. There was no telling how ingesting the cure had screwed with her aside from making her physically a lot more helpless.

Tyler narrowed his eyes, not wanting to bother listening to this woman's schemes and lies. He was going to call Klaus and tell him she was there and let the Hybrid deal with her. With her and Hayley. And then maybe he would do what Hayley had suggested and get the hell out of town and find a new pack, live far and free from Klaus and his reign of terror.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Katherine warned upon seeing the young Hybrid take out his phone. "Or he'll wonder why you've been in constant contact with me for the last few months." She lifted her own phone, showing the two the range of texts messages that were supposedly from Tyler. It  _was_  his cellphone number but he knew he hadn't sent a single one of them. "There's also emails. A couple of voicemails. You'd be amazed at what technology and a little magic can get you these days." She dropped her phone back onto her lap, smiling at the boy. "And really, do you think he'll take the time to let you explain anything or just rip out your heart for another betrayal?"

"What the hell do you want?" Tyler demanded, his temper rising and he clenched his fists, trying not to let it rule his actions.

Hayley sat down on another chair, slumping into the seat as she stared at the ceiling. "Whatever it is, it won't benefit us in any way or form." Hadn't she learned by now that making plans or deals with Katherine Pierce was the quickest way to end up dead or in even more trouble?

"For two people with their entire lives in front of them, you two are positively depressing. Brighten up. I'm here to help your dreams come true." Katherine grinned, enjoying the emotions she was eliciting from both of them. "I want to make Klaus pay for everything he has ever done. You don't think your mother was the first family he ever took from someone, do you?" She could still remember finding her own dead all those years ago. It wasn't something she would ever forget, or want to forget. She held onto it to give her the strength to run, to evade and to plan the downfall of their murderer.

Her own survival was always paramount to Katherine but after five hundred years and all she had to show for it was years of countless running, a string of broken relationships, shattered potential friendships. And Klaus? He had gotten  _exactly_  what he had wanted. He had broken his curse and it wasn't fair and she was tired of him always being the one to come out on top. She had enough scapegoats layered throughout her plan that it'd take him some time to link anything back to her anyway, and by the time Klaus did, Katherine was confident he wouldn't have the strength to lift a finger against her.

"Yeah, see, I don't want your long winded speeches. Just cut to the chase," Hayley grumbled, crossing her arms as she glared over at the older woman.

"What is it that the Hybrid wants the most?" Katherine asked, watching the others look at one another as they tried to answer the question.

"Power," Hayley started.

"Loyalty," Tyler added. "Followers who serve him and only him."

Katherine tapped her fingers against the sofa arm. "So close, but not quite right," she commented, urging them to try again. "He sought to break his curse for a thousand years and once he did, was he satisfied with that?" They shook their heads. "Of course not. He went about making more just like him. But why?"

"Because of Mikael," Tyler started, remembering Homecoming and the chaos of that night. More hybrids had meant an army that was at Klaus' own disposal against his father.

"But he kept making more Hybrids after his father was dead," Katherine pointed out. "And he doesn't like betrayal; usually those who do it are tortured, killed, or forced into an endless game of hide and seek with him." She looked at Tyler then, and the boy nodded, knowing he had gotten lucky only having played that game for a few months. "But his family he put in a coffin and carted them around with him even after Mikael was dead and gone."

"What's your point?" Hayley asked, irritated that they still weren't getting the answers and just more questions.

"He daggers them so they can't leave him. So they can't betray him again, but he won't ever kill them. He'll keep them close by and at his mercy forever and ever," Katherine replied, a bitterness to her voice. "Never quite able to live their lives without him."

"Still not seeing your point," Hayley muttered, tapping her foot in growing agitation. "Or what the hell it has to do with me."

"He doesn't want to be alone," Tyler stated, slowly putting together bits of what Katherine was getting at. "He made us-me and the others-to be his always army and we betrayed him so he killed us. His siblings try to leave and he daggers them so they can't leave and are forced to stay with him." What would he do to Caroline if she ever tried to leave? Not that Tyler thought the two were even together, but he couldn't help but worry for the girl he did still love.

"Very good. I see you're at least a little smarter than that uncle of yours," Katherine replied, leaning forward a little. "And he's nearly there. Only Elijah and Rebekah are left and once they're gone he'll have nothing but his need for power, to own this little city and with the trump card Marcel has at his disposal he won't even have that for very long." She just needed to make sure Marcel would continue with his part in her plan and not deviate from everything she had set into motion.

" _Again_ ," Hayley growled, annoyed at how long this conversation was taking. "What does any of this have to do with me?" And the monster growing inside of her.

"Oh right, you want to know your purpose?" Katherine smiled at her, amused at the anger radiating from the young wolf. "Should I let you in on the little secret?" Hayley simply glared, not bothering to answer. Of course she wanted to know whatever it was that Katherine had been keeping back. "Magic's a funny thing. Can put dead witches into tiny babies. Raise others from the dead. Even slow down a werewolf girl's actual pregnancy so that she'd think it belonged to a Hybrid."

Hayley rose, eyes widening in horrified realization. "Are you trying to tell me that this kid isn't Klaus'?" she demanded, not able to believe her ears. But that didn't...she tried to remember when else she could have had gotten pregnant. Between all the chaos of unsiring the Hybrids and Shane and everything she hadn't had time to find any random guys to sleep with in Mystic Falls. Except… "There was just one time."

She didn't even know his name. If she was honest with herself she didn't even remember what he looked like all that well. That was how drunk she had been, but it was before she had finally put the finishing touches on the plan to get Klaus to kill all of his hybrids. She'd met the random guy at the bar after getting completely wasted, needing to let off some damn steam from everything that was happening, and it had been quick and dirty in the back alley.

"All it takes is one time, sweetie," Katherine pointed out, amused by the girl's answer.

"But that was like two months before I ever slept with Klaus. I changed for two moons," Hayley pointed out.

"Little protection spell for the slowly growing fetus," Katherine shrugged, tired of explaining things. "I had initially planned on using the whole pregnancy aspect against Tyler here to get him to do some things for me. I was so certain the two of you had slept together, but it really was just a ruse, wasn't it?" The two of them glared at her and Hayley blanched at the realization she had nearly killed her baby. Her non-monstrous baby. "But then you went a step ahead and slept with the Original big bad and I knew I could use it to my advantage."

"Fuck you," Hayley spit out, wanting nothing more than to dagger Katherine in that moment.

"I'd say you're the one who's screwed here," Katherine taunted, and held up a hand when she saw the girl was ready to lunge. "I wouldn't if I were you. I don't call my witchy friend in the next few hours and baby dearest will begin to have complications that will kill you."

Tyler stepped in front of Hayley, pretty sure Katherine wouldn't lie about that, and while he was still angry at the wolf girl, he didn't want an actual helpless baby to end up as collateral damage in this insane war.

"As for why I had you and everyone thinking the baby was Klaus'?" Katherine started and the two stared at her, wanting to know the reason on that one. "Well, it got all the players of the game down here and ready to lose, didn't it? The witches played their part perfectly, anchoring you to the city, binding you to them and all because they thought it would help them get aid for a losing battle against Marcel. Elijah stepped into the dutiful brother act he always tries so hard to encompass and stayed to make sure that you were safe, with his naive hope that a baby can somehow redeem Klaus." She scoffed at the very idea of it. There was no redeeming that monster.

"Of course Klaus couldn't pass up that there were witches out to threaten him and by the time he came he saw that Marcel, his old pupil, has everything he could ever want and stayed just to take it away," Katherine continued, brushing a stray hair off her face. "And like the little follower that she is, Rebekah came running back to her brothers as quick as her legs could take her."

So what if a witch or two had died because of her lie? So what if it would probably wreck Elijah once he learned that he had been played and the baby wasn't related to him at all? All that mattered to Katherine was that they were all exactly where she needed them to be and that Klaus would finally get exactly what he deserved.

"So now what?" Tyler asked, sitting down beside Hayley and staring over at the crazy woman across from them.

"So now it all gets taken away. His brother. His sister. And then all of that power he wants, leaving Klaus with absolutely nothing," Katherine grinned, clasping her hands together in excitement. "Now be a good wolf and don't do anything as stupid as a wolfsbane cocktail again, hmm? Play your cards right and the two of you might actually make it out of this city alive."

"How are you going to take any of that away?" Tyler asked, wondering how he was going to explain any of this to Klaus. If he even should. He didn't owe the Original anything. And maybe this was exactly what needed to happen to Klaus. He deserved to pay for everything he had done.

"Let's just say I know a girl," Katherine replied, licking her lips at the thought of Davina and all the power that girl contained.

The witches she knew had said the girl would contain more than enough raw power to freeze Klaus on the spot, to lock him into a state of near death for centuries. It wasn't quite desiccation, but a spell that would turn the Hybrid into a living statue at could only be broken out of by a reverse spell. Except the magnitude of the spell usually required an entire Coven to do it and Katherine wasn't foolish enough to have that many players involved in that kind of task. There would be too many ways for him to threaten the members, for him to break free for a moment and kill one witch, setting off the entire balance and destroying any chance of the spell happening. But one girl who could do it in a matter of seconds was a different story and a chance she was willing to take. Especially when if it failed it would all be pinned onto Marcel anyway.

Except Katherine didn't want that happening until she had managed to drive a wedge between him and his siblings, for the wolves he had just gotten loyalty from to turn their backs on him, the vampire he had called friend to keep the crown that Klaus wanted for himself. She needed for Klaus to be utterly alone in the world and realize he had nothing left before his life was also taken from him so he'd be in that perpetual state of not dead but living knowing no one was going to save him.

"You're crazy," Hayley said, shaking her head in disbelief that  _this_  was Katherine's plan. They didn't even really know the damn plan.

"I prefer the term determined," Katherine replied with a shrug. Maybe it was madness, but she had to at least try it considering all of the pieces were finally in place.

The housekeeper walked in and Tyler and Hayley froze, wondering how she would react to Katherine's presence. "Can I get a sandwich for the road?" she asked and the other two were startled to see the older woman nod and leave the room without a word.

"You should know that there are eyes and ears on you so I'd think twice before trying anything against me," Katherine told them with a wink. "I need to go and meet up with the rest of my contacts, but I'll be visiting now and again now that I'm here."

"What do you even want from us?" Hayley asked, running a tired hand through her hair. Hadn't she played her part already if the baby ruse was just the way to get them down there, couldn't she be done?

"Keep playing the part," Katherine replied, brushing her hair off of her shoulders as she rose. "Get Elijah to fall head over heels for that tiny baby in you. You're the key for breaking him." Of course she wasn't going to let the wolf in on how breaking Elijah involved Klaus eventually killing her and the unborn child, but oh well; some matters were better left undisclosed. And maybe, once Elijah was finally free of Klaus and his chaos, she and Elijah would actually be able to find their own happy ending, but if not, at least they would be free.

Katherine smiled as the housekeeper returned, hanging her a sandwich and glass of juice. The looks on their faces, especially Hayley's were all too amusing to her. "Don't look so sad, wolf," she started, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "You are getting that family you've been looking for, no matter the consequences."

The two watched her leave and Hayley leaned forward, pressing her face into her hands. "We are so screwed," she murmured, feeling even more like she wouldn't be leaving New Orleans alive.

Tyler must have sensed her dismay. "We're going to get out of this," he promised, clutching a hand to her shoulder to try and offer some comfort.

He didn't know how but he was so tired of being a pawn in someone else's game and while he had been prepared to leave Hayley to deal with everything on her own, to skip town and never look back, Tyler knew that he couldn't any longer. Especially not if Caroline was still in town and around Klaus, something that apparently Katherine wasn't aware of at the moment, but would surely figure out soon enough. And he worried what the older woman's plan would be to get Caroline out of Klaus' life.

* * *

"I filled Elijah in on everything. Apparently he'll be home in the next two days. Things have been taking him a little longer than he thought they would up in Vancouver," Rebekah frowned as she entered the room, not seeing her brother. Caroline was sitting at a chair by the window, talking on her phone. From the younger vampire's body language it was an intense and upsetting call.

"I love you, too, mom. I need to go now," Caroline said, glancing over at Rebekah for a moment and then away again.

Ah, no doubt she had been informing her mother of the Bennett witch's death. Considering everything Bonnie had helped do to her family in the last year, Rebekah didn't care much that the other girl had died, but she kept that to herself, crossing her arms as she waited for Caroline to hang up. "Where's Nik?" she asked, glancing around the room. She couldn't hear his presence anywhere in the house.

"He went to get me some index cards," Caroline replied, sliding her phone back into her pocket. "Hopefully he's able to find the colored ones and if not he'll remember the Sharpies." Maybe she should text him that?

Rebekah pursed her lips, looking the girl over. "Right, we need to talk."

"I'm pretty sure this counts as talking," Caroline pointed out, arching a brow at the other girl.

"Cute." From the slight scoff it was obvious Rebekah didn't actually agree with that assessment. "You do know that this isn't like your other dalliances, don't you? This is no few month long engagement, no a year here, break up there, and suddenly back together for another few months. This is forever."

Caroline furrowed her brow in confusion. "Rebekah…"

"Don't even try to act like you don't know what I'm talking about," Rebekah interrupted, sitting down across from her. "Oh, you don't want to give name to it. Don't want to acknowledge those feelings that you have, but you need to know that if you do, if you accept them and let my brother know that you do, there is no walking away from him." Something she knew all too well. "No one leaves him unless he pushes them out the door and I think we both know that's something he wouldn't do to you."

"Rebekah, there's…" Caroline leaned back in the chair, unable to even finish the sentence. It was a lie, they both knew it, and with Rebekah trying to be honest with her she couldn't pay her back with dishonesty. "So it's all or nothing."

"It's eternity. Until you die and I think that it's rather obvious that Klaus is going to do everything in his power to keep you alive," Rebekah pointed out, and Caroline bit her lip. Hadn't the Hybrid already showed that time and again to her in the last few months?

Caroline didn't know what to say to any of it though. Eternity was a concept she still didn't quite grasp. How could she when she had only been a vampire for over a year, nearly two? Maybe when she had a century under her belt it would be more understandable.

"You need to think long and hard on this, Caroline," Rebekah told her, leaning forward a little and Caroline frowned, not wanting to think about any of it at all. She wasn't even  _nineteen_. Why did she have to think about eternity? "Because if you don't think you can commit forever then don't give in."

"I think we have more important things to focus on right now than my love life or lack thereof," Caroline muttered, wanting out the conversation. She would have rose and walked away, but she had a feeling Rebekah would only follow after her.

"Honestly, I don't think it actually matters if you agree to it now. He won't go away. He'll keep tabs on you. Follow you. And wait until you do finally say yes," Rebekah continued, studying her carefully. If Klaus hadn't turned his back on Caroline after her hand in everything back in Mystic Falls, after learning she was the damn next Harbinger, Rebekah didn't think her brother ever would.

"You're making him sound like a scary stalker right now," Caroline told her, crossing her arms in annoyance. Even though she knew what Rebekah said was true. Klaus had given her Tyler's freedom, but at the same time he had told her that  _he_  intended to be her last love. She couldn't see him giving up on winning her over any more than his own sister could.

Rebekah smiled, tapping her fingers against her knee. "We both know you're having a harder time coming up with excuses on why you should say no. The little argument about how he killed people you knew, that you loved, won't mean as much in twenty years, let alone a century. What all does mean now when you're in the middle of a war and will have to make your own kills?"

Caroline looked out the window, again having no response for anything that Rebekah had said. "I hope you do say yes," Rebekah informed her, and Caroline looked up at her, uncertain why that was. "Then maybe I can finally have a life of my own instead of always being the one who never leaves Nik."

Rebekah was gone before Caroline could reply and she stared across that the chair Rebekah had been in only seconds before. Whatever she felt toward Klaus, could she actually do eternity with him? Would it be as it was with his siblings? Elijah had been able to part from Klaus' side, but it seemed that Rebekah wasn't afforded the same luxury, and Caroline didn't want to be a replacement so the other girl could gain her own freedom.

Except she wasn't sure that was how it would play out. There were no daggers that he could use to put her to sleep. And a sister's love was different than a lover's, wasn't it? Except wasn't he already keeping her inside? Sure it was for her own safety, but Caroline knew she wouldn't be able to endure being forced indoors on a constant basis. She would fight him tooth and nail on that, had only agreed to it now for Caleb's sake. They had both manipulated the other into getting exactly what they wanted out of the situation and Caroline was pretty sure she could keep up with Klaus in that way. She didn't fear him, not like others did. The intensity of his feelings in regards to her was the only thing that Caroline was afraid of when it came to the Hybrid.

"Did everything go alright with your mother?" Klaus asked, breaking Caroline from her thoughts and she looked up to see him standing in front of her. He held up the shopping bag and she could see the colored index cards through the thin material.

"Yeah, she's going to talk to Jeremy and search for Bonnie's body," Caroline told him, reaching for the bag. She dropped it when her fingers brushed against his, catching it seconds later. He was looking at her peculiarly and she rose from her seat, clutching the bag to her chest. "Thanks. For these." Caroline noticed that there were sharpies in the bag as well and she couldn't help but smile.

"I figured you might want those as well even though I was able to find the index cards you preferred," Klaus informed her, hands behind his back as he smiled at her, taking a step forward. "More color coding options available for you to work with when figuring out who all the players are."

"Don't think you're getting out of helping me write these," Caroline told him, pointing a warning finger at him and rolled her eyes when he raised his hands in mock surrender. And there it was again, this sweet, softer, playful side she wondered how many others had the privilege of ever seeing.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Klaus replied, charming smile on his face as he reached out to brush a stray strand of hair from her face.

How had she not noticed him having moved closer to her as he spoke?

"Right. I should go find Caleb and get started on this. You might want to find Rebekah. I think Elijah was running into some roadblocks in Vancouver or wherever he is." Caroline whirled around on her heel, heading in the direction of where the young witch was working, but stopped when she reached the doorway. She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Come help when you're done."

Klaus arched a brow at her retreating form, unable to keep from smiling. First she initiated contact and now she was requesting his presence. Oh yes, things were definitely looking up for him.

* * *

Claire couldn't help but struggle against her attacker, even if she knew she was little match for the vampire who was roughly dragging her into the room. She had an about idea why she was being summoned by Marcel, why the supposed vampire king wanted an audience with her, but she wasn't stupid. There were too many balls in the air to be certain which one he had caught hold of and she would keep her mouth shut until she knew which one to give him information on.

She was pushed down onto the chair and ignored the snickers and jeers from the room full of vampires. There were some humans in the room as well, letting themselves be fed on and how she hoped they were compelled. She couldn't imagine how anyone would willingly give themselves over to be bit.

Marcel hopped down from the rafters, landing gracefully in front of her. "It seems you and your lot have been keeping things from me," he chided hands behind his back as he looked her over.

Claire kept her head up, unwilling to be bullied by this vampire. She had seen what vampires could do, seen Sophie stripped of her powers so callously by Klaus and turned. She knew what the one in front of her could do, but she also knew he thrived on fear and she was not about to give him that.

"Tell me all that you know about the Harbinger," Marcel continued, his voice deceivingly calm as he pulled up a chair, turning it so the back was to her as he sat down, casually draping his hands over the back.

She tried not to react to the name, kept her breathing steady, but her heartbeat had sped up a little and she knew he could hear it, that it would have given her away. "Now come on, Claire, old pal," Marcel arched a brow, gesturing around the room to his brethren. "Don't try holding back now. I'd hate to need to get nasty when we're only trying to have a conversation."

Claire pressed her lips together. Maybe she wasn't entirely sure about Caroline or who she might side with, but Claire knew she was the best chance at saving Davina and restoring magic to their line so they could finish what they had set out to do that day. She wouldn't tell him anything. She'd rather die for their cause.

"Remember, I did offer you a chance to do this the nice way," Marcel told her, beckoning someone to come further into the room.

A vampire stepped forward, carrying a kicking and screaming teenager in his arms. "I believe you know Arielle," Marcel stated, and Claire's eyes widened in horror as her granddaughter was placed down in the chair Marcel had vacated. The girl looked back at her, terrified of her current predicament. "See, I'm a reasonable man, Claire. Tell me what I need to know and little Arielle can walk out of here. Don't tell me and she'll never see another day. I know the Leseid Coven is here and that means the Harbinger isn't far behind."

"Help me," Arielle begged, tears sliding down her face, sobbing when the vampire touched her hair and whispered for her to calm down.

Claire hung her head, shaking it slightly. Everyone had to make sacrifices in this war and this would be hers to bear. "I'm sorry, child," she whispered, and then looked back up, unwavering in her belief. "There must be sacrifices for the greater good."

Marcel frowned. "Looks like you boys have a brand new toy," he informed the one who had brought her in, pushing the girl back toward him. "Do with her as you see fit."

Claire stared steadfastly at the wall, refusing to look at the betrayal in her granddaughter's eyes as she was roughly brought into the shadows, trying to ignore her pleas for help. Marcel leaned down so he was looking directly at Claire. "I am going to slaughter each and every one of you until you tell me what I want to know," he told her, smiling as he pulled away and patted her shoulder. "I think I'll let you watch each of them meet their fate. Just remember you could've saved your entire clan if you had just given me the Harbinger's name."

He took a step back; the girl's screams began to reverberate through the room. "You let me know when you're ready to finish this." Marcel looked out toward the vampires in the room and nodded toward the old woman in the chair. "No one touch her."

He strode out of the room, leaving the chaos behind him. "Round up more of the witches," Marcel ordered the first of his group that he found. "Bring them here, don't harm them, but every hour bring one into the room and see if she'll give up the name. If she doesn't, kill the other one in front of her."

The vampire nodded before hurriedly speeding away to complete the task.

"Well well well, looks like  _someone's_ having fun," he heard from behind him, and Marcel arched a brow as he turned around to find Katherine leaning against the wall. "It's been a long time."

"Nearly a hundred years since I've seen your face," Marcel pointed out, grinning at her. "I was wondering when you would show up again."

"I had some business to take care of," Katherine told him, returning the smile as she pushed herself off the wall. "We should get some things out in the open right now. Listen." She tapped her chest and Marcel frowned, wondering what she was talking about but did as directed. His eyes widened at the sound of an actual heartbeat in her chest, air moving through her lungs.

"You're…" Marcel started, shaking his head. But it wasn't possible.

"Human, yeah," Katherine shrugged. "Nasty business with my annoying little doppelganger and before you think of using that to your advantage, just know that if I don't get in contact with my witch every other hour...well let's just say...actually how about we have a demonstration?"

It was only then that he noticed the phone in her hand and his arm moved back of its own accord before slamming into his chest. His feet then moved next, sliding in opposite directions until he nearly stumbled forward from the lack of balance.

"I love voodoo," Katherine murmured, placing the phone back to her ear. "I think he got the picture." She hung up the phone, grinning as Marcel regained control of his own limb.

"Let's get dinner, I'm starving," Katherine continued, already turning around on her heel. "Don't look so glum, Marcel. Remember, I'm here to make sure you stay King." She glanced over her shoulder at him. "After all, why would I have told you about Mikael all those years ago if I didn't want Klaus to lose this city in the first place?"

 


	17. Chapter 17

_I know I've been selfish,_  
_I know I've been foolish,_  
_But look through that and you will see,  
_ _That I'll do better._

* * *

"I don't think we're going to know exactly how many vampires Marcel has at his disposal," Caroline leaned forward, resting her head on her hands as her elbows pressed onto the table. She looked over at the blue index cards spread out on the wall before her and Caleb and knew they hadn't even scratched the surface of Marcel's followers. Considering he could always sire more they might never get a complete picture of his forces. "But it's definitely over two hundred."

"Plus there's Davina," Caleb pointed out, holding up one of the green cards. "Uh...do we put her down as a green one or a blue one or what?" While she was a witch, she was definitely unwittingly in Marcel's camp.

"Blue card, silver sharpie," Caroline told him, and tacked Davina's card up alongside Marcel's. "Majority of Marcel's forces are nightwalkers. So the ones who he hasn't deemed worthy enough of gaining a daywalker ring. Maybe we can use that to our advantage?" If they could somehow get them to think they'd be better off without Marcel as their leader they might help overturn the vampire. But Caroline didn't want to offer empty promises and from what she had seen in the club, his followers seemed all too happy with what he was currently offering them.

"Also means they're pretty vulnerable during the day and I think the majority of them all live over at the club Marcel owns." From what she had seen of the outer building, it was big enough to hold more rooms than what she had seen of the club. "We might need to look into that though."

Caleb jotted that down in his notebook, adding to the list of tasks Caroline had been coming up with. "What about these ones?" he asked, nudging the yellow cards with the Originals names forward.

That was the question, wasn't it? How much did she trust the Originals in regards to the whole balance of New Orleans? Maybe they had kept it up one hundred years ago, but who could guarantee they would now? Or that the others would even allow it? And had they even really kept up the balance or had the witches and werewolves had enough power back then to keep them in line? The werewolves were barely holding it together at the moment and Caroline was pretty sure she didn't even fully know the witches entire agenda anymore so chances of them keeping the Originals in line was slim.

She picked up Klaus' card, looking over at the werewolf ones that were already on the board. He was the spokesperson for their lot, no matter what else went down, he seemed to have the wolves' loyalty. He had shown them some service back earlier. Even if Caroline was certain that had been because she had been with him and trying to live up to the expectations she seemed to have for him. That thought alone made her bite her bottom lip; especially because she was  _pleased_  he had at least tried and shown them a merciful side to him.

Did it matter why he had given the wolves some freedom though or just the fact that it had happened? That they were now allowed to attend school, get jobs, and at least two were going to start a family? Wasn't that the part that mattered, not the fact he might never have done it if she hadn't wanted it to happen? Would it all stop if she were to leave...could she even leave anymore? Caroline wasn't sure she could walk away from New Orleans or the back and forth that was happening between her and Klaus once her task as Harbinger was finished. Partly because she worried what would happen if she did, another part because she doubted it'd be easy to do so, but also because she just didn't want to. She wanted to see the city. She  _enjoyed_  Klaus' company when he wasn't pissing her off. She didn't even mind Rebekah's snarky comments.

But staying wasn't a viable option, was it? What about school? What about her friends, her mom? There was Bonnie's death to deal with and Jeremy's return, but after those were done did she have to stay in Mystic Falls? There were so many questions she didn't have an answer to and didn't think she would for a while.

Caleb watched Caroline twist the card in between her hands, could see the internal struggle on the girl's face and couldn't imagine what must be going through her head. He didn't like Klaus or his siblings, was scared to death of the Hybrid and no longer just because of the stories he'd been told growing up. He had seen firsthand how quickly he could end a life, threaten another, and use someone else as a bargaining chip. He had also seen the way the Original watched Caroline and he didn't like it one bit. That all-consuming look of possession and another emotion he wasn't comfortable believing the Hybrid was capable of having for anyone but himself.

"We don't have to put them up…" he trailed off when she shook her head and stepped forward again.

"Here," Caroline stated and tacked the card over the werewolves before placing Rebekah and Elijah's there as well. It wasn't the best fit, but it would work for now.

Caleb glanced over at her, unsure about her answer. "Do you really think they care about the wolves?" Because he couldn't see the blonde Original or the other one giving a damn about them. Had a feeling Klaus was only using them to further his own goals.

"I think that Klaus is the one they picked to be their new Alpha so he has power over them. Just as Marcel does the majority of the vampires in the Quarter." Caroline leaned back against the table, still frowning at their work. "And I think that Elijah and Rebekah will stay by their brother." For the moment at least. She wasn't sure how long that would last though. "It's not like we can't move the cards around if we need to."

"They can see it anyway," Caleb pointed out, nodding back toward the doorway that led to wherever Rebekah and Klaus were currently.

"I don't exactly know what would have been better for us, to go with the rest of the Coven or coming here or what, but we're here now. So we deal with these circumstances and use them to our advantage." Caroline shrugged and looked over at him again. "Maybe we can't trust everything that's said to us by anyone because everyone has their own agenda, but one thing the Originals do know is the history of New Orleans. Or at least old New Orleans. And we're going to need that." Glancing back at the board she let out a needless breath. "They've also been pretty insistent on saving my life."

Rebekah had done so against the vampires in the bar and slapping some sense into her back at the old place. Klaus when he set out to find her, believing she was kidnapped and possibly dead. Helping to protect her mother. Even getting her to safety again should have been points in their favor. Part of her couldn't help but wonder if there were ulterior motives but then again she already  _knew_  that there were. They simply weren't the usual ones most probably had when helping a Harbinger.

Klaus wanted her alive because he cared for her, and while Caroline wasn't stupid enough to think he wasn't going to use her new status to his advantage however he could, she also thought he might not purposefully put her in harm's way. He seemed to be doing what he could to keep her out of trouble—which was downright  _annoying_ at times because she could take care of herself. Hello,  _vampire!_  But was that really keeping her safe or just hidden to unleash against Marcel when he least expected it?

She frowned. The last thing she wanted to do was start second guessing everything. Caroline Forbes was not going to allow herself to become a paranoid pessimist. No way. "I'm good with where I put them," she nodded; trying to sound determined in her response and was pleased her voice didn't sound like it was wavering.

"Can you do the Coven cards? Put a star or something next to the ones who you think I can actually trust?" she asked, gesturing toward the pile on the table.

"Gonna send the ones who I don't think will trust you home?" Caleb asked, and she glanced over at him. He was trying to act casual about the question, but Caroline heard his heartbeat speed up, saw the tension in his shoulders as he waited for an answer.

"Yeah. I don't want anyone following me because they  _have_ to. That only seems to breed discontent and backstabbing. Something I think we really don't need with everything else going on." She shrugged, having seen firsthand how much people would fight for their freedom with the Hybrids and their unsiring. "So they get a choice to either stay or leave and no hard feelings for anyone. I don't really want to do the whole swear allegiance thing. What if someone has to act against me last minute to save someone they love? That'd suck if they burst into flames or whatever is supposed to happen."

The tension Caleb was holding dissipated and he looked over at her, offering a small, genuine smile. "When they see who you really are they won't ever think of betraying you," he told her and Caroline smiled back, but it was forced.

_Who she really was?_ That was a loaded question if she ever heard one. Who  _was_  she? Caroline wasn't completely sure she even knew anymore and this faith that Caleb seemed to have in her unnerved her a little. Last thing she wanted to do was disappoint him. And when had that even happened? She remembered when she had been annoyed by him and now, only some weeks later she was desperate to make sure he would be okay, that no matter what Caleb would make it out of all of it okay. Or as okay as he could.

"Can you do the cards?" she asked, steering the conversation back to something she could actually handle at the moment. "I should probably have an idea before I see the Coven again, yeah?" Which wouldn't be that day, but Caroline knew it would need to happen sometime soon.

Caleb nodded and picked up the stack of cards. "I'm going to go see if there's anything edible to eat while I do this," he told her, picking up a few of the markers as well.

"I doubt there is," Klaus commented from the doorway, silently observing the two. She wondered how long he had been there listening to their conversation. "Feel free to order delivery and I'll deal with it when it arrives."

The witch frowned at the wording, but nodded before hurrying from the room. Caroline couldn't really blame him for not wanting to be anywhere near the Hybrid. "I see your skills for planning are more diverse than simple place settings and dance numbers," Klaus commented, sounding entirely too amused and she rolled her eyes before looking over at him. She had been ready to reply in kind but his genuine smile was throwing her for a loop.

"Well, you know I'm just trading who can most easily get the flower arrangements into their correct spot and how best to get the applicants from Point A to Point B with probably vervain bombs and where best to spread out werewolves in relations to vampires in the city," Caroline settled for her answer, her entire demeanor relaxed for the moment. It was just like allocating resources for different Mystic Falls events but instead of stay at home moms and high school kids she was using supernatural creatures. No big deal.

"Your talents were wasted on the trivialities of those events," he told her, arching a brow at the glare she sent his way.

"If I remember, you enjoyed yourself a great deal at one of the events." Just not the winter carnival. That had been a disaster. "You never did explain how you got my application." That had kept her up for nights, trying to figure out how he had gotten it from the office where they were filed away. The fact he had cared enough to research where to even find something so trivial in the first place had thrown her for a bit of a loop back then.

"I have my ways," Klaus mused, remembering the day fondly. Oh, it had started out as an act. He knew that now. She and Tyler hadn't truly been broken up, but her laughter and smiles had been genuine, and he meant to have more of that in his life.

Caroline nodded toward the pile of extra cards on the table. "Got any blanks to fill in?"

Klaus walked over to her and she  _knew_  he had purposefully leaned in, deliberately brushing his fingers along her arm as he reached past her for a stack of the blue cards and a pen. "We need to work on you and your personal space issues," she told him, but didn't move out of the way, smile tugging at her lips as he chuckled.

Caroline pushed herself up onto the table, swinging her legs as she watched him jot down a few names on the cards. She unconsciously shifted closer, trying to get a better angle on what he was writing. "Now who has personal space issues," Klaus murmured, and Caroline scoffed at the idea, turning her attention to the wall.

"So are those the members of his elite inner circle or the Nightwalkers you've no doubt already started little ripple effects of disharmony in?" she asked. While the idea had sparked in her own mind a few minutes before, Caroline had a feeling it was something Klaus had been doing long before she had arrived in New Orleans. Infiltrating from the inside seemed like part of his M.O. Aside from the whole rip out hearts move that his entire family seemed to favor.

"A little bit of both," Klaus informed her, holding up a few of his cards. "These are his inner circle. Loyal to a fault and all will need to be disposed of once his reign has ended." He could see her getting ready to object to that and pressed his lips together. This was war and it was something she was going to need to wrap her head around soon enough. There would be casualties on all sides and his only concern was for himself, her, and his family to come out of it alive. However, he knew she wasn't quite ready for that revelation yet. "Just as you want witches you can trust in your Coven, I would want vampires I can trust in New Orleans."

Caroline nodded her assent to that notion. The last thing Klaus needed was more trust issues on top of the ones he already had. "And these would be the nightwalkers you astutely guessed I've been planting the seeds of disharmony in," he smiled at the fact she had not only known it was something he would do but that she also didn't seem against the idea.

"Now you just need the spark to ignite the flame," she murmured, taking the cards from him as she looked over the names, trying to memorize them.

"Do you have any idea what you could become?" Klaus asked, stepping closer to her and Caroline glanced over at him, brow furrowed in uncertainty as she wondered what exactly he was getting at. "Your friends in Mystic Falls underestimated the tactical leadership that you possess. Oh, sure, you used most of your skills for planning the various town and school events, but one look at this display you've set up already shows you have the thought process down. You simply need to hone it."

"Let me guess," Caroline cocked her head to the side, hands pressing into the table behind her as she leaned back a little, silently assessing him. "You want to teach me how."

"Oh the things I could teach you, Caroline Forbes," Klaus replied, and she swallowed hard at his all-consuming gaze. Her mind went in directions she wished it wouldn't, likening the way he looked at her to the Big Bad Wolf when he'd laid eyes on Little Red Riding Hood. Except she had a feeling he'd be eating her in an entirely different way than the wolf had wanted for that little girl if she ever let him. Caroline was too focused on his gaze to notice that he had somehow come to stand between her legs, hands planted on either side of her thighs as he leaned forward, locking his gaze with her own.

One of his necklaces that he had a penchant for wearing dangled in front of her, tempting her to reach forward and thread her fingers through it, to pull him closer and ask for him to show her everything he had to offer, but Rebekah's words echoed in her mind, and Caroline couldn't seem to shake them. "Until I annoy you enough that you find a way to incapacitate me like you do your family when they become a problem for you," Caroline murmured, but there was no anger in her voice. She was simply stating facts or what she believed to be facts.

Klaus hadn't expected that as the answer and he nearly pulled back, ready to put up all of his walls again and lash out at her. There was an uncertainty to her though. He could see it in her face as she looked at him, waiting to see how he would respond. She was genuinely concerned that there would come a time he would lock her away as he did his siblings when they interfered with his plans or he needed to stop them from leaving him. Could he blame her for that considering it was how he so often dealt with his problems?

"I bet you could get some witch to come up with a damn sleeping spell or whatever and put me out for fifty years," she continued, rattling off all of the ideas she had come up with in her mind. Sleeping spells, maybe desiccation, turn her into stone. The possibilities were endless. "Or lock me away when I really irritate you or you think I've become entirely too much of a vulnerability to let outside in the sun."

Klaus lifted a hand to her hair, brushing a strand from her face. "Caroline," he started, but apparently she wasn't done listing her ideas.

" _Or_  drain me of enough blood so that you could compel me to do whatever it is that you want. Which I still can't believe you've never done. You've had so many opportunities to do that to me. Especially here, and okay, I don't know if that would actually work since stakes apparently don't on me anymore so maybe compulsion doesn't either," she continued, reaching out for his necklace then, letting the cool metal soothe her frenzied nerves. "But you could have and you didn't."

Why didn't you, she wanted to ask, even though she already knew the answer. She kept it inside though, also scared of his response, of how this man standing in front of her seemed to care for her in spite of everything he had done. His words rang in her head,  _so you've never felt the attraction that comes when someone who's capable of doing terrible things for some reasons care only about you?_  She remembered her response, cutting him to the core, but the problem with it had been that she had never stopped feeling the attraction. Even though she had said she did, it was always there, lingering in her thoughts, her dreams as Elena had so clearly seen. Even Silas had been able to pick that out from her head and use it against her.

Running from it didn't seem to help, nor did keeping her distance from him considering she only seemed to be constantly pulled back into his orbit. Or was it that he was tethered to hers now? Because it seemed no matter how far she kept trying to distance herself from him that Klaus was there, not willing to let her go, in a constant orbit around her. When had she become his sun?

"Caroline." Klaus tried again, fingers moving from her hair to slide down to her shoulders and along her arms.

"You do such horrible things, Klaus. Caleb is scared to death of you. I know he tries to not look like it, but I can tell that he is. Freaking everyone seems to be. Except for maybe the werewolves. They seem more impressed by you more than anything else." Caroline hit Klaus in the shoulder, not needing to actually look at him to know he was amused by that fact. She kept her gaze locked on the necklace she was still sliding through her fingers. "And  _see_ , I can tell you're all smug about that and that  _shouldn't_  be a good thing, but I know that's partly my human brain speaking because we're monsters. We're supposed to be feared. And you're supposed to be the biggest monster of us all. Do you have any idea how damn frustrating you are?"

Because half the time she wasn't sure if she wanted to slap him, to strangle him, and toss his ass into a wall for infuriating as he so easily did or if she wanted to grab hold of him, press him against that same wall and kiss him senseless. She hated not knowing, the lack of control that seemed to want to spiral inside of her by just being near him at times. And yet part of her yearned for it as well, Silas' words about her feathers being ruffled echoing in her head.

Caroline pulled back a little then so she could finally look Klaus in the eye. "But let's make something clear, I will  _never_ let you lock me in a box or a tower or any of that," she told him, holding her head up high and was happy that her voice didn't waver. "Not without a fight."

"And you wonder why I see you as my Queen?" Klaus murmured pleased at her boldness, the inner strength she always seemed to have around him.

"Bloody hell, you two, get a room," Rebekah muttered as she strolled toward them, interrupting whatever would have been Caroline's reply. It was only then that Caroline noticed how compromising their positions must have looked to anyone else observing them, how close Klaus had been standing and the fact she was still holding onto his necklace. "There's a delivery man at the door. Caleb said you would deal with it."

Caroline shifted, ducking out from between Klaus's arms and away from his body so that she could stand on her own two feet again. She took the cards Klaus had finished and moved to put them up as well.

Klaus glared at his sister, annoyed that the moment with Caroline had been broken and the fact the girl was already back to work meant that there was little point in trying to pick back up where they had been forced to leave off. "Impeccable timing as always, Rebekah," he bit out and strode out of the room.

Caroline could feel Rebekah watching her, but kept her focus on the task in front of her, not wanting to deal with anymore revelations from the other girl. "People who play with matches often get burned," Rebekah stated, and Caroline kept looking at the board, pinning up the last card. "I should know. I love watching things burn down. People, places. The fire consumes it all; regardless of how much it's loved. Everything goes up in smoke. And so will you if you're not careful."

"Maybe I'm the match this time," Caroline replied, glancing over her shoulder at Rebekah, watching the other girl's lips curve into a smile.

"Then strike the match already," she murmured before walking out of the room.

Caroline looked back at the wall, blowing out a needless breath. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

Marcel watched as Katherine practically devoured the gumbo that had been set before her in a matter of minutes. He beckoned for more to be brought over, hardly remembering what it had been like to need food in order to survive. He could only imagine what it must have been like for the five hundred year old vampire to suddenly revert back to human, to have all of the vulnerabilities, the needs that came along with that life sentence. It shouldn't have surprised him that she had secured herself some witches for protection and since they were outside of his current jurisdiction there was little he could do to retaliate. As powerful as Davina was, he didn't want to chance his own death because he miscalculated another's power.

"Seems you're not as up to date on the happenings of Niklaus Mikaelson as you think, Katherine," Marcel told her, leaning back in his chair as one of his nightwalkers brought her another bowl.

"I'm not going to beg for information I can find out by observing him myself in the next few days," Katherine informed him, knowing full well the vampire would tell her anyway. He'd never been one to keep news to himself if he could brag about it and that would be his downfall.

"He's got himself a new pet." Marcel lifted up his wine glass, looking out at the vampires moving about the room, bringing in terrified women of all ages that were now nothing more than collateral damage in his war.

"I fail to see how that's even remotely relevant," Katherine remarked, snorting at the idea that Klaus' latest feeding toy would be worth mentioning. "We both know how quickly he goes through those."

"Seems she's a bit different than the usual. She used to be a friend of Rebekah's." Or at least that was what the Original sister had said. He was beginning to wonder if that had been a cover for her actual position in Klaus' life. " _Caroline_." Her name really did roll nicely off his tongue.

Katherine froze, lips twisting into a sneer at that name. It couldn't be, could it? The little blonde she had killed, wanting to use for her own purposes, such an easy disposable girl that seemed to keep thriving in every instance that she shouldn't. "Blonde? Has an annoying ability for always coming out on top?"

"Don't know about the second part, but she is blonde." Marcel shrugged. Though, she had managed to leave his club and survive what Diego had planned to do to her without much fuss so maybe that was an accurate description.

Frowning, Katherine pulled out her cell and scrolled through the pictures she had purposefully placed on it to link Tyler to her. "This one?" she held it up, showing off a picture of Caroline Forbes that had been on the young Hybrid's phone.

"That's her. You know her?" Marcel asked. Clearly he hadn't given the little blonde enough merit if she was also in Katherine's line of fire. Who was this baby vampire?

Caroline Forbes.

Katherine kept a smile on her face as she shut off the phone, not wanting to give too much away. If the girl was in New Orleans that could ruin everything. She needed to be shown what happened with hanging around Klaus, with siding with the Original. "A vulnerability that can easily be exploited if you do what I tell you."

She had heard the murmurs when in and out of Mystic Falls, seen Klaus and Caroline leaving the football field as she purposefully kept her distance and tried to get the upper hand in the entire deadly situation. She had heard the words he had promised the girl, but had thought Caroline back in Mystic Falls with her annoying doppelganger and the Salvatore brothers, with their witchy friend who would protect her from any scheming. But it seemed Caroline was in the Quarter and easily exploitable now. A slight shift in her plans couldn't hurt when it would bring Klaus even more pain and suffering.

"Against Klaus?" Marcel asked, bemused by the idea. Since when was a woman any sort of vulnerability to the Original aside from his sister? And even then it meant a quick dagger and coffin trip to safety to remove the threat that Rebekah could be to him.

Katherine's smile grew at that, reminding Marcel of a viper ready to attack. "All you need to do is tear out her heart. Figuratively at first and I know just the way to do that." And then when Caroline hated him enough, despised the Hybrid with all of her soul, she'd have Marcel actually remove the girl's heart. If she couldn't have her love, if Klaus continued to keep Elijah from ever truly being with her, then it was only fitting that she strip him of his love in return.

* * *

The debate hadn't let up since Cecile had walked into the old house. She had never been to this particular one, but the abundance of relics from the Middle East reminded her immediately of Valencia. The woman had spent a good many years in that region, traveling the different countries over the years, and collecting what she could to give onto the next in line. It would have been nice to be able to inspect it all further, to pick out what else reminded her of the woman she had known since she was a child, but personal desires needed to be pushed aside so she could deal with her Coven that was actively trying to tear one another apart.

Each side thought themselves right and the other wrong, and as always when a debate had that kind of attitude backing it up, the words that were exchanged were becoming more explosive and hurtful with each passing minute.

" _Enough_ ," she demanded, voice not rising a single octave as she turned around. All words ceased as soon as she spoke though, heads turning in her direction. "You are each here to serve the Harbinger. She is not the only one of her line as you all well know, but the universe picked  _her_. Even after she became a vampire, it did not waiver in its belief that she was the one to see this turmoil through to its end. And considering the factors that are in play here, perhaps a vampire Harbinger is exactly who needs to be in charge of setting things right."

"She is one of them," Karmyn started, still nursing her pride at nearly dying by the hand of the Hybrid. "She stood up for that  _monster_."

It was true. The girl had stood up for Niklaus Mikaelson and each and every one of them in that room knew his reputation, all that he had done in the world. "He is not our concern," Cecile reminded. "We are not here to mess with the balance of the Hybrid." That was not their task and doing so would only cause even more chaos in the region. Something she was not about to allow to happen. There was enough disharmony in New Orleans.

"But we could easily overpower him with our strength," another pointed out, and there were some murmured words of agreement. "Especially if we had the girl's help."

"Do you hear what you are saying?" Cecile asked, trying to be calm, to be patient with them. The younger ones did not see the forest; they only focused on one tree, missing the bigger ripple effect their actions could have on the world. "What you are suggesting disturbs the balance, something you swore to always uphold in this Coven."

Going against that would strip them of their powers. From the downcast looks she spotted upon her answer she knew they remembered that oath they had all sworn when joining. Going against the balance meant their powers would leave them in an instant, cutting them off from the earth, from one another. "Trust in yourselves and the Harbinger," Cecile continued, offering them a small smile. After all, that was their purpose.

"Cecile," Andrew called from the window, alerting her to trouble. "Something strange is happening outside."

She strode over, looking out into the night to see what he had seen and easily spotted the figure standing at the gate, pacing back and forth and looking wildly at the house. "Vampire," Andrew informed her and some of the others readied for battle.

The figure outside stopped pacing and stared directly at the window, shifting into the street light's path so that Cecile could see her face. "Sophie…" Oh you poor child. She could only imagine the pain the young woman was in since she was now cut off from the world she had known all her life and would never be part of again.

"Do not harm her," she ordered the others and headed outside. "Sophie Anne. What has become of you, child?"

"You know exactly what I am now," the former witch bit out and then ran a shaky hand through her hair. "Sorry. I'm not..." She was jittery, staring for a long moment at the other witch's neck, her focus on the vein she could see against the skin. "Marcel's gathering witches. He already took Claire. She and I are the only ones who know who the Harbinger is. I think he's trying to break her into telling. I found her granddaughter drained of blood a few minutes ago. I think he's going to kill whoever else he has until she finally gives up a name."

She locked her gaze with Cecile then. "We shouldn't suffer for the mistakes of our parents. Make this right."

Sophie was gone before Cecile could answer. "What do we do now?" Karmyn asked hand pressed to her mouth at the sight of what had been a once powerful witch turned into a monster. Was that the same fate that awaited the others?

"We get them back," Cecile replied, eyes narrowing at the thought of so many witches at the current vampire king's mercy. She turned around, looking out at the entire Coven who was no doubt wondering how they would do just that. "I suggest you call your families." There was no guarantee that any of them would make it home now. Not with how the vampires were playing the game.

* * *

When Rebekah had called to inform Elijah to inform him that they had needed to move to a new house, Elijah had finished up what he was dealing with and headed straight home. He had stopped trying to be cunning and fair with the vampires in Toronto during his visit to remind them who they were loyal to, instead ripping out the hearts of a few of them before the others acquiesced to his points. And then he had thrown in compulsion as an added measure, ordering them to follow behind him the next day and stay out of sight in a nearby town. The last thing they needed was for Marcel to realize they had been slowly gathering their own army back up, one full of vampires far stronger than those currently residing in New Orleans.

Elijah had headed straight to the other safe house, wondering what chaos would be present when he entered. To his surprise he found there was no screaming upon entering, no heated discussions happening as he made his way further inside and toward the room from where the voices came from.

The witch boy was sitting at the table, eating his pizza, while the two vampires stood discussing the colored cards tacked onto the wall before them. He frowned at the assortment of holes in the recently renovated walls, but at least there was no broken furniture at the moment.

"I see you have been busy in my absence," Elijah commented as he strolled to where the others were located. He could sense the boy tensing, no doubt not liking the fact he was severely outnumbered by vampires in the room.

"Rebekah tells me you ran into trouble in Toronto," Klaus replied, not bothering to glance over at him. "I had thought the fact you had sired Pryia and her lot that they would have been easy enough to persuade."

"Not all of us feel a need to use your methods when dealing with our own," Elijah pointed out. He could hardly blame the fact the others hadn't wanted to come to New Orleans because of Klaus and his whims. There was no guarantee they would leave alive and they had a nice life going for them in Canada, but he had granted them eternal life, and he would have their help.

"A little terror goes a long way," Klaus shrugged, crossing his arms as he watched Caroline step forward, altering another of the cards on the wall. "How many left of their little clan now?"

"Eight and all will be nearby in the morning." Elijah looked over the cards, putting together what their purpose was quickly enough.

"Wait a minute," Caroline started, and his attention shifted to her. He arched a brow at the annoyed expression she was directing at Klaus. "Are you telling me you have more vampires coming to  _your aid_  that you conveniently managed to forget to tell me about?!"

"You never asked," Klaus drawled, clearly amused by her indignant expression.

"Seriously?!" she hissed, brushing past him and gathering a stack of the cards off the table. "Get to writing down names." She turned and walked over to Elijah, thrusting cards and a pen at him as well. "You too."

The baby vampire had already moved away from him before he could respond to the gesture, holding the cards and pen in his hand. He was waiting for Klaus to remind her that she had no right to speak to him in such a way, that there was a certain level of respect that she shouldn't forget, but Elijah watched Klaus continue to smile at her as she walked back to him, undisturbed by her outburst.

"I believe I asked earlier if you had any blanks to fill in," Caroline reminded, and gestured to the cards again. " _This_  would be one of those blanks."

Rebekah strode into the room, hanging up a phone call and looked between all the players in the room, trying to determine what she had missed. "Are there any others that  _you_  know about that your brother has so kindly forgotten to tell me about?" Caroline sighed, clearly exasperated as she tapped the table.

"Oh I'm not allowed to go on scout missions," Rebekah grumbled, flipping her hair from her shoulder. "That would be their job."

"Perhaps if you had sired any worthwhile vampires you'd be allowed to, little sister," Klaus chided, not bothering to look up from the task he had been given, but any of them could see his smirk.

"You had a penchant for killing anyone I sired," Rebekah glared, pressing her lips together in barely contained outrage.

"As I said," Klaus reminded, finally looking up at her and there was no discounting the amusement in his features. "If you had sired anyone  _worthwhile…"_

"Klaus, stop baiting your sister," Caroline warned, tapping her fingers against the cards. " _Focus._ " The two of them could squabble later after he had completed the task she had set out for him.

"I'd think long and hard before you decide to join this craziness, Caroline," Rebekah warned, ignoring the glared Klaus was now directing at her. "My brother has this need for forcing everyone to bend to his will and he doesn't take kindly to those who try and defy him. No matter how good a fuck they are."

"Enough," Klaus demanded, his face pure rage as he stepped forward, ready to throttle the girl. Sister or not, he would not be talked to that way. Not in his house, not in front of Caroline, and Rebekah would learn her damn place.

Elijah rose as well, moving to try and come between his siblings before any unforgivable actions could be done. What he didn't expect was for Caroline to do so as well, actually getting into Klaus' war path and stopping his brother with a press of her hand to his chest.

"Don't," she told Klaus, shaking her head and refusing to move out of his way even as Klaus' hand wrapped around her wrist. "You deserve every word she throws at you and you know it, so _don't_."

Rebekah held her head up high, still glaring at her brother as she clenched her fists at her side. She didn't know if she was offended or pleased that Caroline had come to her defense, probably both. Though the part that offended her was the fact that Klaus seemed to have stopped for the girl, taking what she said to heart, even though she had been saying the same thing to him for centuries and he only ever ignored her words.

"I will not have her poison your head," Klaus growled, pointing accusingly at his sister and he nearly took another step forward, rage still coming off of him in waves.

" _Please._ " Caroline rolled her eyes at that. "Like I don't already know that you're a horrible, manipulative, jerk that sometimes treats his siblings like shit." He looked down at her then, searching her face to see if that was all she thought of him. Was he truly only a monster in her eyes? "I just happen to know you have other layers as well, but she has every right to speak her damn mind so finish writing my cards and stop being so offended."

She walked around him then and headed over to Caleb who had been watching the whole scene play out in front of him. Caroline could see him ready to use magic at her defense and she offered him a small smile as she snagged a slice of pizza and slid onto the chair beside him.

Klaus silently fumed in his spot, clenching his fists tightly in front of him as he regarded Rebekah. "Can we please save the whole family feud thing for after the cards are finished?" Caroline called out, and Elijah pressed his lips together in amusement, intrigued to watch Klaus turn away from Rebekah and head back to the task he had been working on.

Rebekah snorted at the action before purposefully pushing past Elijah to take a seat beside Caroline. "I despise this family sometimes," she muttered, as she leaned back in the chair, pouting.

"The feeling is mutual, dear sister," Klaus promised, looking up to snarl at her and Caroline rolled her eyes at their display.

"And this is why I'm glad I'm an only child," she muttered, looking over at Caleb who offered her a hesitant smile. His cell started to ring and he pulled it out.

"It's my Grams."

"His Grams?" Elijah asked, wondering why the others were so focused on the boy answering the phone.

"Caleb's grandmother is the head of the Leseid Coven," Rebekah informed him, wondering what the old woman wanted.

Well that was interesting turn of events. Elijah strolled over to stand by Klaus, listening into the conversation and well aware the other vampires were no doubt doing the same. "You're not going," Klaus growled before the conversation was even finished.

" _Excuse you_. We've had this discussion about how you do not get a say in what I do," Caroline pointed out, ignoring Rebekah's snort. "They have the New Orleans witches  _because of me_. I'm going to help get them released."

"And I believe I said I'd take what you said under advisement," Klaus reminded, clearly having no intention of going along with her idea then and there.

"Uh...she doesn't want you to come, Caroline," Caleb interrupted before their argument could escalate.

" _What?!_ " Caroline shook her head, staring wide-eyed at Caleb at that revelation. "But I can freaking help."

"Um. One second." Caleb sat the phone down on the table and hit the speaker button.

"We still need you to be the trump card, Caroline," Cecile told her from the phone. "I am calling to see if there's anything else we can use against Marcel for their release. Or at least long enough to distract him so we can get them released."

Klaus grinned, a certain other blonde immediately popping into his mind. "I know just the thing."

"Then we shall see you soon," the older witch replied before the call was ended.

Klaus passed his finished cards across the table. "Don't pout, love, you need to decide what to do with these still. Elijah, I believe I could use your help." He glanced over at Elijah who nodded his silent assent. "Come along, Caleb, your grandmother wants you there."

Caroline glowered at him, snatching the cards up as he left the room without another word, Caleb offering her an apologetic smile as he followed after the Hybrid. She was the damn Harbinger. She shouldn't be waiting on the sidelines. "What the hell?" she demanded, crossing her arms as she leant back against the chair clearly annoyed.

"Welcome to my life," Rebekah replied, flicking one of the cards before she snagged herself a slice of pizza.

* * *

Caleb didn't like that Klaus had told him to wait in the alley before the Originals had strode into the bar. He listened for a moment, before taking a deep breath and gathering the courage to ignore the order and following the Hybrid inside. Once he was in the bar, he wished he had listened and immediately pressed a hand to his mouth as he doubled over at the horrific sight that had greeted him.

Thankfully there hadn't been many patrons in the bar, but all that had been enjoying a cold beer, relaxing after a hard day's work, were dead. Heads snapped in odd ways, hearts and lungs strewn across the floor. He hadn't even heard anyone scream, that was how quickly the events had taken place.

"This is the girl?" Elijah asked, and Caleb looked up, finding the two standing before a terrified blonde bartender.

"Hello, Camille," Klaus greeted, smiling at her as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "My apologies for not visiting as often as I used to. I'm sure Marcel has been keeping you busy enough."

She had been staring at the chaos before her and finally looked at the perpetrators, backing away as she realized she knew who they were, her fear growing with each passing second. "What the hell are you?" she asked her voice barely audible. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Not yet," Klaus replied, moving to easily knock the woman out and hand her off for Elijah to carry. He spotted Caleb then, puking up the pizza he had just eaten. "I did tell you to stay outside."

He reached behind the bar, filling a glass with water before thrusting it into the boy's hand. "Caroline wishes for you to live so I'd rather not dispose of you, but slow me down, boy, and I will happily do so."

Klaus grabbed the witch by the back of his collar and dragged him up, pushing him toward the door. "Now let's go. Your grandmother is waiting."

There was a battle to be won.


	18. Chapter 18

_Like some child possessed_  
_The beast howls in my veins_  
_I want to find you  
_ _Tear out all your tenderness_

* * *

Caroline glared at the wall of cards. She couldn't seem to shake her annoyance at not only Klaus but Cecile as well for wanting her to stay out of their rescue mission. Not that she even thought that was why Klaus was getting himself involved-no doubt for him this was another way to show Marcel who truly held the power in their constant tug of war over New Orleans-but she should be out there as well, not in the damn house, unable to do a thing.

So they didn't want to showcase who she was just yet and she got that, really she did, but that didn't mean she couldn't be out on the front lines helping as well. She was a  _vampire_. They could use her added strength-and if not hers then certainly Rebekah's-and stakes couldn't kill her any longer, so Caroline figured she could use that to her advantage. She didn't need to use her powers to take down a vampire, to help free the witches. She could use her vampire abilities instead and be just as useful as the next person.

"I am  _not_  doing this," Caroline grumbled, pushing herself off of the chair and headed to the wall She looked over the list of Marcel's vampires, memorizing who was in his elite group, remembering who Klaus had managed to spark an interest in dissent in. "This is pretty much my number one pet peeve. Whenever  _anyone_  tells me that I can't do something then I do everything in my power to prove just how wrong they were about that."

Like when they had said sophomores couldn't run the cheerleading team she had campaigned her ass off and proven she was more than up for the challenge. Her father had said she'd never be okay again now that she was a vampire and she had finished high school, hadn't she? And she would go to college and she would prove to him that she could be  _just fine_  as a vampire.

Rebekah arched a brow at the other girl's annoyance. If there was one thing she did like about Caroline Forbes it was that she wasn't a wilting flower like her doppelganger friend so often seemed to be. "And how are you going to do that?"

"Don't know yet exactly how, but I know it won't happen if I stay cooped up in this house waiting for them to return," Caroline pointed out, flicking one of the cards in annoyance. "Even if we don't go anywhere near where they all are, anywhere near Marcel, we could figure out where the hell the New Orleans witches can go so they can't be exploited so easily by him again. Because this mission is going to be all for nothing if he can just turn around and take them again."

She knew the witches wouldn't leave the city though, even if it was for their safety. They wouldn't allow themselves to be cut off like that, not when they still had some connection to their power. It wasn't as strong as it should have been and there was a lot they were no longer able to do, but they were still tied to the city and to each other.

"I'm going." Caroline turned to look at the Original, steeling herself for a reaction. The only problem was that Rebekah could definitely over power her if she wanted and snap her neck before Caroline would have time to react, but she had to chance this, and she had a feeling Rebekah didn't want to remain in the house any more than she did.

"It would get under Klaus' skin to see you directly defying what he told you to do," Rebekah mused, her lips curving into a smile. And wouldn't that be something to see? Her brother, the Big Bad Hybrid, openly defied by this baby vampire. What would his reaction be to that?

She rose from her chair as well, raising a conspiratorial brow at Caroline before she turned toward the door, stopping at the threshold to look back at the girl, "Are you coming?"

Caroline grinned, pleased that at least one person seemed to think she was capable of something aside from sitting around and waiting for everyone to return.

* * *

"Going to need to invite us in, Cecile," Klaus called out, not caring who might be listening in as he strode up the path toward the old Harbinger home. There was a time when he had been invited in before, but the owner had changed and old invites didn't crossover. Though he wondered if invites even mattered considering it now belonged to Caroline and the girl was a vampire. How did that work?

The door opened to reveal one of the other witches-the one he was fairly certain he had nearly killed-what was her name again? Ah well. She sneered at him, not even bothering to hide her contempt. "We can't," the witch informed him, crossing her arms as she stepped back to allow Cecile to come to the front.

"Caroline is the one with the power to invite you inside and as she is not here," Cecile told him, and he pressed his lips together, realizing now why the woman hadn't wanted the girl to come.

"Rather devious of you to tell her you want her to keep safe and hidden so no one knows who she is just yet," Klaus began, hands clasped behind his back as he regarded the two women and the room full of witches behind them. "When in reality you simply didn't want to risk her inviting in any of us, hmmm? Or for her to be around for this particular part."

"My entire coven doesn't trust you and I cannot blame them for that. I don't trust you," Cecile added, glancing over at her grandson who was standing several feet behind. He didn't look well and while she didn't see any injuries to the boy, she could tell he had seen something that had spooked him.

"Good thing trust isn't needed to get this next part done," Klaus quipped, not at all surprised by the lack of it. What did he care if he didn't have it from them? There was only one person whose trust he was seeking to gain and she was safely hidden away in the safe house. "Now, shall we go and bargain for the witches' lives or continue to stand around here chatting about things neither of us truly gives a damn about?"

"We shouldn't do anything with him. We can do this ourselves," Karmyn muttered from by Cecile. The old woman held up a hand, effectively silencing the girl.

Perhaps they could get the other witches released without the Originals' assistance, but doing so would end up draining all of them to a point where they would be useless for days. And considering how quickly events were coming to pass, Cecile knew that was the last thing they needed to have happen. "Go make sure the others are ready, Karmyn," she ordered, waving her hand to dismiss the other woman.

Karmyn glared one more time in Klaus' direction before stepping away to do as she was told. He found her outright hatred rather amusing and it must have shown in his face because Cecile sighed, looking at him with that patented disappointed Grandmother stare. Unfortunately for her, all it did was further is own enjoyment at the situation.

"What bargaining chip do you have?" Cecile inquired, finally spotting the other Original on the lawn, holding up a blonde woman who appeared to be waking up.

"Ah yes, meet Camille," Klaus stepped back, motioning to the young woman who pressed a hand to her face, wiping her eyes as she tried to focus them.

Camille blinked, slowly remembering what had happened but her brain couldn't seem to process it. She could not have just witnessed someone she had thought she knew who was a charming man and friends with the man she was sort of seeing, kill everyone in the bar but her. It had just been a horrible dream, but then where was she? And his face...both their faces...they weren't supposed to look like they did. More monster than human.

She shrieked as she saw Elijah, pushing at him to try and let her go, but the Original kept his grip on her arms. He tried to calm her down, but she wasn't having it, clawing at him as she violently thrashed about in his grip, desperate to get away.

From the terror on her face, Cecile knew the girl must have known what the two men actually were and wondered what horrors she must have witnessed. Was it the same one her grandson seemed to be shaken up about?

"Marcel seems to fancy her," Klaus continued, taking the steps two at a time as he headed to where his brother was holding the girl and trying to soothe her fears. "Enough of this."

He grabbed hold of Camille, quickly locking his gaze with her own. "No more tears unless I ask for them. You will be compliant and do what either my brother or I say," he easily compelled, and the fight left the woman, her terrified tears stopping immediately.

"I will be compliant and do what either your brother or you say," she repeated, and Klaus patted her shoulder, pushing her back toward Elijah.

"That's a good girl," he murmured, before turning back to Cecile. "As I was saying, Marcel fancies the woman. Seems to think she would make a marvelous queen for the empire he's building."

Cecile frowned, unsure if she liked where this could potentially head. They needed something to use against Marcel so they could get inside the building where he was holding the other witches and break them out. And with the majority of the Coven staying behind to complete the spell to incapacitate Davina for as long as they could, they were going to need that bargaining chip.

There was no telling how long they would be able to hold off Davina coming to Marcel's aid and while Cecile was confident she could keep the girl away from them for a few moments, she didn't want to chance it. If the Originals were busy keeping Marcel distracted then she and the others could locate the witches and free them and if time ran out, then they could leave the vampires to deal with Davina's wrath.

"I must ask though, what of Marcel's witch?" Elijah asked, silently observing the woman's reaction to his question. While the witch wouldn't be able to kill them, he didn't want to deal with her unexpected vengeance if the witches decided to leave them on their own. Something he felt was a real possibility and from the way the older witch tensed for a moment, Elijah had a feeling that had been her plan.

"Excellent question, brother," Klaus mused, and took hold of Caleb's arm at that point, roughly pulling the boy along with him. "You see, we're going to keep this one with us while we do our part to make sure you don't leave us to the wolves as the saying goes. And I wouldn't try any of your spells right now to pull him inside with you." He linked his arm around the boy's shoulders, smiling down at him. "Caleb and I had a lovely chat on the way over, didn't we?"

Caleb glared daggers at Klaus, but nodded. "Poor boy can't bear to be any more than five feet from me before he starts to try and kill himself and won't stop until he's successful or back near me," Klaus continued. Compulsion was such a beautiful thing. "Would you like a demonstration?"

He released his hold on the boy, giving him a little push before Cecile could reply and Caleb stumbled forward, nearly edging the five feet mark. "No," Cecile shook her head. "The coven will be doing a spell to keep her knocked out for as long as they can. I'll feel when they can no longer keep her down."

"Fantastic," Klaus stated, pulling Caleb back toward him. "Then you'll remain with us as well while the other witches who are coming with you go in search of the New Orleans ones."

Cecile nodded her head in assent to the plan. She knew she should have allowed Caleb to die instead of agreeing to go along with it, it would have been a noble sacrifice, but he was her grandson. She had seen him born and she did not mean to ever see him die. Maybe it was selfish of her and not a wise decision as the leader of the Coven, but in that moment she was a grandmother, and she would not apologize for her choice.

"We leave in five minutes," Klaus grinned, clapping a hand onto the young witches shoulder as his grandmother closed the door to gather those who would be coming with them. "It seems you do have your uses yet."

"I don't know what Caroline sees in you," Caleb bit out, nearly crumbling to the ground when Klaus' grip turned excruciatingly painful.

"Don't tempt me not to remove the compulsion and leave you to your fate," Klaus warned, and Caleb clamped his mouth shut, knowing the Hybrid would make good on his word. And considering the chaos they would soon be entering, Klaus could probably pass off his death as a tragic loss and Caroline would never be the wiser.

"Leave the boy alone, Niklaus," Elijah sighed, wiping a stray hair off his jacket. "I hardly know the girl, but I doubt Caroline would be pleased if the boy were to die and it seems that you're quite intent on pleasing her." Something he hadn't expected to see.

He may have overheard a number of their phone calls, but witnessing his brother smile and not tear the girl's head from her shoulders when she started ordering him around had been a surprise. Then, he had put together exactly who Caroline Forbes seemed to now have become, the mantle destiny had forced her to carry. Elijah remembered the curse Klaus had thrown at Valencia nearly a century ago, the vow he had sworn to destroy her entire family and make sure the Harbingers suffered for all eternity. Yet, he wasn't doing anything to make Caroline suffer. Klaus' need to keep her safe seemed to be genuine, the feelings his brother had for the girl were enough to stop Klaus from exacting the revenge he so desperately sought.

It was a strange thing to witness, even if it was everything he desperately wanted for his younger brother.

"It's in Caleb's hands now," Klaus bit out, glaring at the closed door and not wanting to have this particular discussion. The boy's life was in his own hands and perhaps Caroline would be angry if the witch were to die, but Klaus was confident she would get over it with time. "She'd move on."

"Would she?" Elijah asked, and Klaus clenched his fists at his sides, not wanting to hear anymore. "Because it seems to me that Miss Forbes holds quite a bit of stock in her humanity and if not humans as a whole, then she's protective of those she deems to be her friends."

"I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself, Elijah," Klaus warned him, but it was too late. Elijah's words were branded in his mind because he knew his brother was correct in his assessment. Caroline might not care for all of the humans she came into contact with, but she was fiercely loyal to the ones she loved, and unfortunately the boy had become one of those people.

He grabbed Caleb by his shirt, yanking the boy over to him and released him of his compulsion before placing another into the boy's mind. This time he wanted obedience and for Caleb to remain at his side, but gone was the death sentence if he didn't listen. He shoved the boy away when he was finished, glaring at him, Elijah, and the damn bartender as he strode past them. Klaus stopped at the edge of the lawn, waiting for the witches to be ready as he glowered at the street, annoyed.

Caroline wasn't even present and she was altering his judgments. He wasn't sure how he felt about that fact.

* * *

Maybe leaving the house has been a bit impulsive, but Caroline and Rebekah were being anything but once they were in the streets. They sat on a roof across from Marcel's building, surveying what was happening. From the angle they were at they could see two sides of the building. One held the entrance to the club and there were vampires entering it as well as humans with their invitations, eager to try out an exclusive setting for the night.  _How little they know…_  was all Caroline could think as she watched them go. Like lambs to a slaughter.

The other side was another entrance and they had seen some of Marcel's vampires going in and out. It was then that they watched two new vampires come toward the club, a human girl with them, but she didn't have the invite, and she looked too young to be legally allowed inside. She was also trembling and practically being dragged by the men.

The two didn't talk, not wanting to alert anyone with vampire hearing to their presence, but Rebekah tapped her on the shoulder, holding up a hand and wiggled her fingers before nodding back to the men who had come out and were walking around the building. Caroline noticed the rings on their fingers then.

Daywalkers. Some of Marcel's elite.

The girl was a witch. Caroline just knew it, the terrified look in her eyes as she was dragged into the club cementing the idea in her head. "We're vampires. We're allowed in there," she murmured, wondering what fate awaited the girl. Whatever it was it couldn't be good. "We could follow them, find out where everyone is." Maybe it wasn't the best strategy, but leaving that girl to the slaughter wasn't something Caroline wanted to do. Not if she had a chance to stop it from happening.

Wasn't that the point of her being in New Orleans, to help set things right? And vampires taking helpless witches to their death wasn't right. Feeding was, sure, even if she couldn't quite do what the others did in that club, Caroline knew she couldn't fault them for any of that. They needed blood to live and the humans left relatively unharmed. They weren't being tortured. Some of them even seemed thrilled by the act as the vampires' teeth pierced their neck. It was the ones who didn't that worried her, the ones who ran, who screamed for mercy. Sure they were compelled to forget, but for a moment that terror reminded her of being in her bedroom and afraid of Damon. Maybe in a hundred years she wouldn't feel the same, but time hadn't passed yet, and she didn't like the terror used on others. Not if it wasn't saving the life of someone she cared for.

Rebekah grabbed her arm before she could make a move. "Are you mad?" she demanded though her voice was barely audible, still unsure if they could be heard. "We are not walking into the lion's den."

While she was all for the two of them defying Klaus, she didn't want his murderous wrath directed at her and getting Caroline harmed would definitely have that happening. Another vampire headed toward the door, this time carrying a small girl, no older than eight who was pounding her fists against the man's back. Caroline held up her free hand, white light glowing.

"Don't make me use this," she urged, not wanting to do that to Rebekah, but she couldn't let a kid be brought into that. Especially not one that reminded her so much of Bonnie at that age.

"Oh bloody hell," Rebekah muttered, and released her grip on the girl.

Caroline jumped down from the roof, and flashed right over to the man. The girl stared at her, no doubt wondering where she had come from and if she was a friend or a foe. Caroline didn't hesitate as she reached out and snapped the man's neck. It would put him out long enough for them to get the girl away from the place. The vampire never knew what hit him as he fell to the ground, releasing his hold on the little girl who would have hit the ground if Rebekah hadn't grabbed her and set her down on the sidewalk.

"This is a war, Caroline," Rebekah stated, reaching down and pulling out the man's heart. "We don't incapacitate. We kill."

The girl began to frantically sob at what had happened, clawing at her hair as she moved backward, shaking her head to put distance between them. "Hey hey," Caroline reached out for her, but that only made the kid shriek louder.

Damn it. Someone was going to hear and investigate if they didn't do something. She caught the girl's arms, pulling them down from her head, before cradling the girl's head in her hands. "Look at me," Caroline urged, keeping her voice low and soothing. The little girl shook her head, not wanting to do that.

"Look at her or your next," Rebekah threatened, and the girl's eyes snapped open, clearly terrified.

Caroline shot Rebekah an annoyed look for that comment before looking back at the girl, trying to offer a reassuring smile. The girl was horrified though, and no amount of comforting would help. "Stop your tears," Caroline compelled, sighing when the child immediately stopped crying.

"That's better," Rebekah muttered, turning her focus to the dead vampire.

Keeping her gaze on the girl, Caroline tried to figure out where to send her. Home wouldn't be good, she could be captured again and the rescue would be for nothing. "Go straight to a cemetery. Hide in a crypt and don't come out until one of the witches is there for you." Vampires couldn't go into the cemeteries without an invite. It was the perfect temporary place for the witches to hide until they could figure out how to free Davina and take down Marcel. "Do you understand?"

The girl nodded and Caroline hated the lack of expression in her eyes, but she knew the crying wouldn't help. The kid needed to get somewhere safe and if she was hysterical the chances of her being held up from the cemetery were higher. "Go," Caroline urged, releasing her hold on her and watched the child disappear into the night.

She glanced back at where Rebekah and the fallen vampire should have been, but found neither around, though the Original reappeared moments later.

"So now we infiltrate the club and find the rest?" Rebekah asked, clearly unimpressed with the idea. Caroline nodded, knowing there was no chance of her leaving now. What if they had other children in there? How many would die before the others were able to do their part? It wasn't the best strategy, but sometimes rolling with what was happening was the best thing to do.

"Come on," Rebekah continued, sighing heavily. "I swear you're going to be the death of me." Caroline snorted at that, not even bothering to roll her eyes at Rebekah's glare. "Follow my lead and once we're past the eager dancers,  _remember_  this is a war. We're not here to make friends or snap necks. We want them dead or they'll simply go out and get more witches and I'd really like to not be here again tomorrow." She started forward, but stopped, whipping back around as she remembered a vital detail. "And keep your powers to yourself. We do still need that trump card."

Caroline nodded, hands flexing at her sides. "Let's do this."

* * *

Davina was pacing the room, her senses overloading her as each witch died. She could feel every single one of them, their power linked to her and when one of their lives ended, the weight of the power that engulfed her nearly brought her to her knees. She tried curling up on her bed; hands pressed against her ears as she closed her eyes and hummed a tune she didn't quite remember. The fact the pain and terror was happening only a few feet from her room seemed to magnify what she was able to feel from them.

Her visions had killed countless witches before and she had endured their deaths, taken in their powers and gotten stronger, but it was never to this extent before. It was always one or two, one time there had been three, but not this never ending progression of power being constantly pushed into her body. Her entire body ached as a result, unable to cope with the transition that wouldn't end.

"Just a little bit longer," Marcel murmured, reaching out to rest a hand on the girl's head. He knew this would be a difficult experience for her, but Davina was strong. She would survive and he would be one step closer to ending the witches as well as know who the infamous Harbinger was currently. "She can't hold on forever."

Claire was a strong, stubborn woman, but he was confident that she would break. There were only so many she could witness dying before she realized holding out was useless. No one would be coming to her aid and she would have to give up the name. And then he would kill her to show the other witches that defying him was a pointless endeavor. Something he wouldn't tolerate from any in the Quarter.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he looked up to see one of his daywalkers in the doorway. "I trust this is important, Tanya?"

"The Hybrid is here," the woman informed him, and Marcel frowned, wondering what the hell Klaus could be wanting now. "He has the bartender with him."

Marcel rose, his face a mask of fury. Why the hell would Klaus have Camille? It made little sense to him, but it was something he knew he couldn't stand to allow. Klaus needed to learn his place. Unfortunately his little witch was currently incapacitated. Which was more important? Knowledge of the Harbinger-the girl apparently destined to kill him-or knocking his old mentor down a peg? Not to mention he knew whatever intentions Klaus had with Camille they couldn't possibly be honorable and Marcel wasn't about to give her up without a fight.

"I need a brief stall on the next witch killing," Marcel told Tanya, and moved back to Davina who whimpered at that knowledge. "How long until you gain your strength?"

"Ten minutes?" she breathed, trying not to claw at her skin. It felt like it was on fire, burning away the current layer she wore to make way for a new batch that was growing underneath.

"I expect you downstairs in ten," Marcel told her and proceeded out the door to greet his old friend.

The door closed and Davina tried to focus on her breathing, to gather her new strength so she could help Marcel in whatever task he required. Except suddenly she couldn't move, couldn't even scream as a wave of magic hit her and wrapped around her body, effectively trapping her. It felt different than what she was used to, the signature of it something she had only glimpsed the other day when Marcel had been attacked. She knew then what was happening. That Coven was trying to control her and she couldn't allow that to happen. Who knew what would happen to Marcel if she couldn't help him.

She was too weak to struggle against the invisible bonds, but she tried to keep her wits about her, to calm herself down so she could refocus on building up her own strength. Then she would be able to break away from those trying to stop her.

Davina couldn't lose Marcel. He was the only father she had ever known and she wasn't about to let anyone take her family from her. Not again. She might not remember the one she must have had before, but she knew how it felt to not have them around, to miss who they must have been. And she wouldn't let anyone take away the one person she considered family.

* * *

"So kind of you to grace us with your presence," Klaus commented as Marcel made his way into the room. He watched his friend, noting the tension in the other man's shoulders even as he offered up an amiable smile. The fact that the other vampires in the room also seemed to be on high alert wasn't lost on Klaus either. Ten measly vampires was hardly a threat to him and Marcel had to know that. No doubt his old protégé was counting on the little witch he had under his thrall. The one currently being incapacitated by the Coven.

Klaus spared a glance in Cecile's direction, playing it off as though he was checking in on the poor bartender's welfare, and was pleased to see the witch nod. They were still successfully keeping the girl down and that was all he needed to know.

"If I had known you were coming I would have procured some entertainment for the evening," Marcel told him, easily sliding onto one of the chairs as he watched Klaus. He noted who else was with the man. He knew Elijah and of course Camille, but he was unsure of the boy but the woman, he knew precisely who that old one was and that didn't bode well for him. "Would you like me to have someone brought here? A blonde perhaps?"

Camille was staring at him in horror, though she didn't make a sound or try to leave Klaus' side. No doubt he had compelled her, just as Marcel would do to make sure she forgot all she would see that night. This was not how he wished to bring her into his fold, only once she was sufficiently in love with him would he tell her and then turn her, binding her to him for eternity.

"I doubt we'll be here all that long, mate," Klaus replied, smug smile on his face as he took a seat opposite his old friend. "Might as well cut the pleasantries since neither of us needs them. And while my brother is a stickler for all those rules and protocol, I think even he would make an exception this one time."

"Time is of the essence," Elijah stated as he moved to stand behind his brother, leading Camille to sit down beside Klaus. She did so without any thought, though her eyes were locked on Marcel, almost as if she was pleading to him for help.

"What do you want?" Marcel demanded, smile gone from his face as he tried to figure out the motive on them being there in the first place. "And how is it that you know the head of the Leseid Coven, Klaus?"

"I want the witch Claire released to my custody and the other witches you haven't killed yet sent back to their homes," Klaus informed him, leaning back against the chair as he regarded his old friend. Truthfully he only wanted Claire, but the other vampire didn't need to know that part. Nor did the others in the room. "You'd be better off asking me who I don't know in the supernatural world, Marcellus. After all, when you're as powerful as I am, you tend to learn who else holds any scrapings of power. Such as the little doll you keep upstairs at your beck and call." He pointed toward the ceiling, arching a brow as he smirked. "I believe the Coven is here to right a wrong done sixteen or so years ago, but you can take that up with them after you've released the witches."

"Why do you care what happens to a few New Orleans witches, Klaus?" Marcel asked, trying to answer the question in his own head. What could that possibly gain him? "You were always trying to subjugate them back when you were in charge of this town." But instead  _he_  had succeeded where his mentor had miserably failed.

"I was never one to share my reasoning, as I'm sure you recall," Klaus reminded, steepling his fingers as he observed the younger vampire. "Suffice it to say I've use for them yet. Unlike you who seems to delight in killing them at the slightest infraction."

"I wonder where I could have learned such behavior?" Marcel uttered, his smirk reminding Klaus of his own. There had been a time when he would have been flattered by the notion, but now it only further annoyed him.

Klaus couldn't help but raise his brows momentarily in acknowledgement of that fact, pressing his lips together as he pretended to contemplate how to answer such truths. He wasn't a nice man, he hadn't been one for a very long time, and violence was how he often got things taken care of, so why disappoint his old friend by holding back now? He brought his arm to his mouth, fangs protruding as he ripped into it, blood seeping from his bite. He grabbed Camille a second later, forcing his blood down her throat and into her system before any of them could react.

"I suggest you give me what I want, now, old friend, or she won't live to fulfill her transition," Klaus instructed as he snapped the woman's neck and let her drop to the floor.

He wiped his hand across his mouth, smearing blood as he rose. Klaus ignored the gasps from behind him, knowing full well that he wasn't earning any points with his behavior in regards to Cecile. Not that he cared. Once New Orleans was his, Caroline wouldn't need her Coven around any longer and he'd send them far away where they couldn't poison her mind against him. He would use them for now to his advantage but he had no intention of making them see him in a better light. Not to mention he was already making sure the woman's grandson would make it out of this scenario alive. There were only so many good deeds that he could stomach to do a day if they had little benefit for him.

"I will take  _everything_  that you love," Marcel growled, taking a step forward toward the fallen bartender, but Klaus yanked her lifeless body up.

"I believe you've been trying and not quite achieving that one," Klaus chided as he adjusted his hold on Camille. "A kingdom you can't quite control. How many usurpers have you killed this week? Ten? Twenty? Seems to be a rising problem. It appears to me that the people of this town know you're nothing more than a peasant masquerading as a king." He couldn't help the cruel smile that tugged at his lips as he looked down at the bartender before passing her off to Elijah.

"You'll get the girl after I get the girl. Seems like a fair trade to me."

Marcel didn't move, glaring daggers at the Hybrid. Where the hell was Davina? He needed her to come down those stairs now and knock Niklaus Mikaelson on his ass so he could retrieve Camille from the other side. This wasn't how he wanted to transition her to the vampire life, but she would be fine. He would make certain of it.

"If you're waiting for the girl, Davina, she won't be coming to your aid anytime soon," Cecile informed him, still feeling her Coven's spell coursing through her veins, as strong as it had been minutes before. Which meant they didn't have much time left before the girl was able to start fighting them back and eventually break the binding spell. They needed to find the other witches now before Klaus could make even more of a mess of the situation. She should have known better than to put any faith in him being able to help.

"What have you done, witch?" Marcel demanded and Klaus flashed to the vampire's side, throwing him against the nearest wall.

"No more waiting," Klaus growled, the other vampires in the room falling to their knees as Caleb erupted pain in each other their heads. One thrust of his hand and he had broken through Marcel's chest cavity, hand gripping the other vampire's heart. "Know that I could end your life right now, old friend." It wasn't as though he cared if Davina was freed, if the other witches ever gained their powers back. How easy it would be to take the girl from her current master and mold her to follow only him. "But I want you to see your kingdom crumble to the ground, the girl you wanted as queen to turn her back on you, and your followers to leave you behind with nothing as you fall to your knees for forgiveness. You were a fool to think you could ever best me."

Klaus snapped Marcel's neck, letting his body fall to the ground. "Leave the girl. Let's go find ourselves the witch we need." He paused, waving a finger around the room. "Elijah, if you'd be so kind as to deal with the rest of them. The two of you with me. Locate where Claire is being held."

"So you can kill her," Cecile breathed out, finally realizing his intentions. Of course he would want the old witch dead. She knew who Caroline was and if Cecile had realized anything, it was that Klaus would do whatever it took to keep the girl safe. No matter who was hurt in the process.

"Don't forget what happens if your grandson isn't within five feet of me, Cecile," Klaus lied, but neither of them would know that. The only two who did were he and Elijah and his brother would be too busy disposing of the remaining vampires in the room to let that little secret out of the bag. "I suggest you come along and do as I ask. Find Claire."

"She wouldn't want this," Cecile pleaded, making sure not to say Caroline's name in case the walls had ears as so often seemed to happen these days.

"She doesn't get a choice," Klaus replied, yanking Caleb along with him. He knew the other witch would follow wherever the boy was forced to go.

* * *

Caroline had lost count of how many hearts she had pulled out, how many times she had thrust her makeshift stake into a vampire's chest only to watch the life leave their eyes. As soon as they had managed to make it through the club and out into Marcel's inner sanctuary, Rebekah and she had been leaving a wake of destruction as they traveled through the hallways. There was little point in trying to sneak in when they had been spotted not a minute after entering the forbidden area, Rebekah quickly and thoroughly dealing with the vampire who spotted them.

From then on they had worked as a team, disposing of any vampire they came across in their search for the rooms they had compelled out of the bartender. Her hands were sticky with blood, hair streaked with red and clothes and skin smeared with it. She could only imagine what the two of them looked like to any who they caught in their sights.

The look of horror on the faces of vampires far older than her was something Caroline didn't think she would ever forget. A few had nearly gotten the upper hand, but their hands couldn't break through her chest cavity as hers so easily did theirs. Harbinger powers effectively keeping her alive in a situation where she might not have been otherwise.

"We're here," Rebekah stated, stopping in front of the doorway and letting the last vampire fall down at her feet, holding his heart in her hand.

Caroline stepped forward, pushing his body out of the way as she opened the door. Men, women and children of all ages were inside, and the looks of terror on their faces as they took her in made her inwardly cringe. Some of the younger ones started crying, faces pressing into the adult closest to them.

"You need to go to the cemeteries," Caroline told them, trying to wipe the blood off of her mouth as she forced her fangs and veins to recede. "There's already one little girl there and Marcel can't touch you if you're there. It's not the best solution, but it'll work until we finally take him down."

None of them moved, the words not quite registering as they tried to determine if the two vampires were friends or foes.

"Don't just stand there staring," Rebekah huffed, brushing hair off of her face. "I did not just leave a wake of vampires behind me for you lot to get killed because you'd rather stand around staring at us like goldfish with your mouths gaping open."

It seemed that was all that was needed for the witches to start shifting out of the room, still warily watching the two of them as they stepped out into the hallway. Their horrified expressions only seemed to deepen as they took in the bloody scene that was out there before they started heading toward an exit that Rebekah had propped open. "Does anyone know which way Claire is?" Caroline called out, unsure any of them would be able to help them.

"Who are you?" a man stopped in front of them, clearly torn between gratefulness and repulsion.

"We need to get her out too, do you know which way they were taking people when they left the room?" Caroline asked, not even sure how to answer his question.

"That way," he pointed in the opposite direction before leaving with the others and disappearing into the night.

"Talk about ungratefulness," Rebekah scoffed, pressing her lips tightly together in annoyance. "And you wonder why I don't do good deeds."

Caroline rolled her eyes at that, already starting to move in the direction they had been directed. She listened for a heartbeat, something that was easier to define once they had distanced themselves far enough away from the club and mess of humans inside it. "There," she murmured, hearing a faint beating sound behind a door nearby.

"And then we're leaving before Niklaus knows we were ever here," Rebekah reminded, putting her foot down at any more rescue attempts after this one.

Caroline nodded and Rebekah ripped the door off its hinges so the two could enter the room, Rebekah moving to dispose of the two vampires who had been left on guard duty as Caroline hurried to the witch. She looked horrible, breathing shallow, and face stained with tears. "I sent everyone to the cemeteries," Caroline told her, unbinding the woman's hands. "I'm sorry I couldn't save everyone."

That was clear enough from the dead bodies that were carelessly tossed on the floor in front of Claire. "I knew you'd come," the old witch croaked, and Caroline helped her stand, trying to steady her shaking body.

The door opposite them burst open, and Caroline and Rebekah bared their fangs, ready to deal with the threat. What Caroline hadn't expected to see was Klaus and the others, and from his shocked expression she had a feeling he hadn't expected to see her either. She heard Rebekah's sharp intake of useless breath. Having her brother not know they had gotten this far into the building had been the only thing she was striving for and that was now shot. She could only imagine the punishment he would want to dole out.

"Caleb, Cecile, can you help me get Claire up?" Caroline called out once her voice could properly work.

Klaus' shocked expression had morphed quickly into fury, something she hadn't seen directed at her in quite some time, and she was pretty sure never to this exact extent. "The other witches are scattering to the different cemeteries. It's the best we could come up with as a safe haven for right now," Caroline told them, passing the old woman off to the other two.

She was unable to say another word because Klaus took that moment to flash to her side, roughly grab her by the arms, and flash them the hell out of the building and back to the safe house before Caroline could even blink. His fingers dug into her arms, eyes tinged with gold and she knew his wolf side was barely below the surface, dying to come out.

"Are you insane?" Klaus howled, pushing her back against the nearest wall. She had to be, that was the only explanation he could come up with for why she would have put herself at such risk. Caroline simply stared at him, not quite able to think of an appropriate answer to that. Maybe it hadn't been the  _best_  decision she had ever made, but it had been successful! They had freed the witches, Claire was rescued. Hadn't that been the whole point?

"Answer me!" Klaus demanded, causing her to cringe at how hard his fingers were biting into her skin, his face but a whisper away from her own.

"Let go of me," Caroline shrieked, and used all of her strength to throw him off of her. It worked because he hadn't been expecting the move, sending him crashing back into the opposite wall. All that seemed to do was set him even more on edge and Caroline watched him, matching his steps as he circled toward her, reminding her immediately of a wolf stalking his prey.

"I made myself  _very clear_  in what you were supposed to do, Caroline," Klaus growled, clenching and releasing his fists at his side as he followed her steps. Did she have no idea what could have happened to her? The horrors that would have awaited her if Marcel or one of his minions had managed to catch her?

"I don't take orders from you," Caroline hissed, and her fangs lowered without her realizing it as the two continued their dance that kept them a few feet apart. "You don't get to order me around. That is  _not_  how this works."

"When it comes to your safety," Klaus began and Caroline flew at him, growling at the audacity of him to even suggest he got a say then. She had intended to punch him in the face, but Klaus easily caught her swing, grabbing her by her arm and trapping her body against his. She struggled in his grip, trying to get some kind of leverage. He turned her around, still keeping a hold on her so she couldn't move away, but he needed to be facing her. Klaus refused to have this conversation with the back of her head. "You  _will_ listen."

"I  _always_  listen," Caroline spat, trying to wrench her arms free from his grasp. "Doesn't mean I always do what you say because sometimes what you say is shit. Like stay inside, Caroline. You can't come, Caroline."

"That was for your own good. To keep Marcel from knowing who you are before he needs to," Klaus reminded, swallowing at the sight of her with blood smeared against her lips, streaked through her hair and those fangs showing as she hissed at him.

"No, that was for  _your_ peace of mind," Caroline growled, snapping at him, more annoyed than ever when he smiled at that. "You're infuriating." She tried to knee him, to twist her body so that he would need to let go, but all her movement seemed to do was cause Klaus to stumble back slightly.

The back of his knees hit a chair, causing him to fall down onto it, dragging Caroline along with him. Maybe it was the sudden movement, or the adrenaline that she was sure was soaring through their veins, or maybe the fact she was surrounded by blood-on him, on her-but as she fell against his body, and his hands moved from her arms to her waist to steady her, she shifted forward, lips pressing roughly against his own.

Except she didn't pull back right away, and isn't that what she would have done if it had only been a mistake?

Instead she shut her eyes, hands moving to his head and roughly catching his hair as she tried so hard to conquer those lips that had been tempting her for far too long. There was nothing sweet about the kiss, nothing gentle as his hands slid up her back before tangling in her curls and trying to keep her exactly where she was on his lap. She didn't hesitate, teeth, lips and tongue scraping, brushing against his own as though she was trying to devour him, and taking what she had been wanting for a while now but had refused to admit.

This wasn't anything like when he had been in Tyler's body, this was all Klaus, and while he may have let her have the upper hand at first, mostly from shock that she had initiated the kiss in the first place, he refused to sit idly back when he was finally getting what he wanted. He gave as good as she did, having known the experience would be even more glorious once he was in his own body to experience it.

Her body seemed to mold to his own, sliding along his in ways that made him want to whisk her up to the bedroom or push her against the nearest wall and continue to take what he desired, have her writhing beneath him and saying his name as a plea for release. She had opened the floodgates with this kiss and Klaus was not about to let her try and close them again. Not when he could tell precisely how much she wanted him, but he knew pushing her too far too quickly wasn't the best course of action either.

Klaus pulled away, unable to help the smug smile as Caroline blinked, coming back to herself. She licked her lips as her focus moved back down to his own. "Look at you," he murmured, finger twirling a lock of her hair stained with blood. "My beautiful angel of death." He leaned forward again, teeth grazing her neck but not breaking the skin, and he smiled as she hummed in delight.

While she was definitely enjoying the sensations Klaus was creating through her entire body, and god how she wanted to have him right there on the chair, Caroline  _knew_  she couldn't allow him to have the upper hand there. He would think it was okay to order her around, to decide what she could and couldn't do and like hell she was ever going to allow that to happen.

"I won't be your anything until you get it into your thick skull that you can't order me around," she told him, pushing his head away from her as she narrowed her eyes. "You want me to be your Queen? Well, guess what?  _This_  Queen wants a King who's her equal, not one who tries to lord over her and force her to his every whim."

Caroline untangled herself from him, rising to her feet as she straightened out her clothes. "I'm going to shower and maybe when I'm done, you'll be ready to figure out what we're going to do with the witches. You know  _with me_. Like as a discussion where we both get a say and decide together what's the best course of action." She whirled around, blond curls whipping around her head, not bothering to wait for a response.

Klaus stared at her retreating form, torn between fury that she had walked away, that she thought she could get him to concede to her will, and entranced at the fact she continued to stand up for herself, letting him know at every turn that she wasn't someone he could conquer. He settled for a smug grin as he watched her go, quite satisfied with how the events had proceeded.

Marcel had received a striking blow, the Coven knew they couldn't control him, most likely the New Orleans' witches were beholden to Caroline and his sister for their lives which meant they owed him. While he would need to deal with Rebekah completely disregarding his orders, the fact both her and Caroline had come out of it unharmed, and it looked as though Caroline had given in some to her vampire nature as well as initiated their kiss, Klaus figured he could be a tad lenient with Rebekah. Perhaps he'd let her squirm, wondering what her punishment would be for a few days or weeks. He always did like when they jumped at the slightest thing, waiting for the inevitable.

He looked up to see Elijah and Rebekah walk into the house, Rebekah's eyes widening for a moment as she regarded him, obviously waiting for her comeuppance. "I take it that the Coven is dealing with the witches?" Klaus inquired, ignoring his sister as he focused on his brother, who nodded, confirming his suspicions on what would have happened.

"I think you'll find ripping Claire's heart from her body will be a tad more difficult now, Niklaus," Elijah informed him. "You sent Cecile into a bit of a panic when she realized you were no longer near Caleb. They both seemed to be waiting for him to start with the suicide attempts."

Klaus waved that off, watching as Rebekah tried to slide past him and head up the stairs. "Know that if you ever put Caroline in the line of fire like that again that I will dagger you for eternity, little sister," he warned her, pleased to see her back stiffen at the threat, knowing full well he could make good on it.

"Was that necessary?" Elijah sighed as Rebekah disappeared up the stairs, but Klaus waved that off as well, pushing himself up.

"Everything I do is necessary, Elijah. Surely you know that by now," Klaus replied, and left him to stand alone in the foyer, muttering nonsense that Klaus didn't care to hear. He could hear the shower happening upstairs as well as Rebekah having a fit in another room, and he strode into the room with the cards tacked on the wall, ripping off the ones he had personally dealt with or seen die at his brother's hand. He would need Rebekah and Caroline to do so as well later, but Klaus leaned back against the table, surveying the damage that had been done.

Quite a nice day, much better than he thought it would have gone.


	19. Chapter 19

_She is the sunlight  
_ _And the sun is gone_

* * *

Davina was off the bed and practically flying down the stairs as soon as the other witches' spell died. Her body still ached and each step she took was agony, still not having healed from obtaining so much power in such a little amount of time, but she didn't care. She needed to find Marcel, needed to know that he was okay.

Blood spattered the hallways, dead vampires strewn about the floor as others began coming out onto the scene. None of them neared her, all knowing who she was and exactly what she could do to them. They also knew the wrath they would face from Marcel if they so much as looked at her funny.

She headed toward the main room, heart racing as she took in the sight of Marcel's elite laying scattered around the room, their hearts all lying beside them. She saw Marcel slumped against a nearby wall, and her limbs trembled as she hurried to him, willing what she was thinking to not be right. He couldn't be dead. She  _couldn't_  lose him. Not him. Not now.

Scanning his body, she let out a sigh of relief when she noted no holes in his chest and leaped back a little in surprise when he moved, gasping as he came back to life. His gaze immediately met hers and he reached out, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine," he assured, silently taking in the scene before him as he rose.

Klaus and his family had done this, killed some of his most loyal subjects and broken his rules. He was not about to allow them leniency. Not again. They needed to be punished for what they had done. He just needed to figure out exactly how to do it.

The sound of whimpering broke his train of thought though and he glanced at Davina, wondering if he had accidentally used too much strength in his touch, but she was fine and glancing over near a corner. Marcel turned his attention that way, inwardly cringing at the sight of Camille pressed back into the corner, eyes wide as she took in the horrific scene laid out before her.

"Cami," he started, walking slowly over to her, but she held up her hands, clenched into fists in an attempt to keep him away from her. "I'll explain everything." He could only imagine how hard this must have been for her, to be thrust into the lifestyle without ever having known anything about his world.

"What did he do to me?" Cami asked, hands moving to claw at her hair.

"I'm going to make him pay for it," Marcel promised, crouching down beside her. She was still in transition and needed to drink. There was no way he was allowing Klaus to take her completely from him. Adjusting to being a vampire might take some effort, but Camille was strong and Marcel was confident she would be able to do it.

"Marcel," one of the other vampires who had entered the room called out, but Marcel didn't bother to turn around. He knew they were all waiting for orders on what to do about the massacre that had happened in the room and if he knew the Mikaelson family at all, probably had also occurred out in the rest of the building as well. Not doubt the witches had been freed and he would need to deal with in time.

"Find me a human, now," Marcel barked, slowly helping Camille stand. "I'll explain everything after you eat." He handed her off to another vampire. "Make sure she eats and then bring her back to me." Turning, he located Davina in the room and beckoned her over with a wave. "I need you to be ready by tonight; do you think you'll be at full strength by then?"

"I can do it now," Davina told him, hands clenched at her sides. She was livid that anyone dared attack them in their home, that they thought they could defeat them here without consequences. "I'm ready."

"And you'll be even more ready once you're at your complete strength," Marcel assured her, clapping a hand gently on her shoulder. "I need to deal with the bodies, see exactly how many Klaus was able to take from me and then I hit back twice as hard."

"But how?" Davina asked, uncertain what Marcel would be able to do against the vampire and the other Coven. It may have taken all of them to incapacitate her, but they had still managed to do so and she didn't want a threat like that to live for much longer. Not if they were able to regain their strength as well.

"Looks like it's a good thing I had you instruct your people to get a little gift from Mystic Falls, hmm?" Katherine chimed in as she walked into the room, dropping down onto one of the chairs. "I see Klaus is making the same statements as usual."

"How long until that package arrives?" Marcel inquired, lips curving into a smile as a plan formulated in his head.

"Should be here in an hour or two," Katherine replied, glancing over at him. "Do you have anything to eat? I'm starving."

* * *

The breaking of furniture seemed to have quieted down, and while Rebekah wouldn't open the door for him, Elijah was taking that to be a good sign. Her tantrums could last for days, but as long as she wasn't going to run off and do anything that could put her in harm's way-not that he didn't think she could take care of herself, he  _knew_  she could, but it was his right as a big brother to worry-then she could stay locked in the room for as long as she cared. He had changed and showered before heading downstairs to locate his brother.

They hadn't been able to discuss what had happened to the witches after his apparent dramatic exit upon finding Caroline and his sister in the building as well, and while Elijah had felt that perhaps there needed to be some breathing room before that was discussed, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't to find Klaus leaning against the table and studying the cards spread out on the wall before him as Chopin played in the background.

"I am in no mood for a lecture, Elijah," Klaus informed him, not bothering to turn around. "Rebekah deserved what I said and more for her part in that foolishness."

"And Caroline, what is it that she will deserve for also disobeying your rule?" Elijah asked, walking forward so he could see Klaus better. He wanted to see his brother's reaction to the question.

"Fishing is really not your strong suit," Klaus replied, smile tugging at his lips as he remembered Caroline's body pressed against his less than an hour before.

Though, Elijah did have a point. Caroline had directly disobeyed him and while he had been livid at the idea of her getting hurt, Klaus enjoyed the fact that she stood up to him, that she didn't cower or walk on eggshells like so many others did, waiting for him to be set off. Even his siblings acted like that at times and it only set off his irritation and made him want to prove them right, to show how dastardly he could be.

Elijah watched him, trying to decipher what was going through his brother's head in that moment. He was at a loss though. Anyone else that wasn't family would have been killed for disobeying him and if not met with death, there would be some type of punishment doled out to them. Looking at Klaus though, he wasn't sure any discipline would be given to the girl which confused him. He didn't understand his brother's relationship with the baby vampire, but there were aspects of it that he did approve of even if he was having a hard time comprehending it.

"What did he do to Rebekah?" Caroline demanded as she entered the room, detangling her still wet hair as she walked toward them. "She's not daggered, right? Because I could swear I heard her throwing things at the wall." Unless it had been one of them who had done that, but she was certain she had heard Rebekah's voice muttering some pretty choice words about Klaus while things shattered.

"Ah, yes, one of her patented temper tantrums," Klaus mused, glancing over at Caroline and letting his gaze travel up her body. She rolled her eyes at him, dropping the damp towel onto the table.

"Klaus deemed threatening to dagger her for her part in your activities was a good idea," Elijah informed her, and Caroline looked up at the ceiling as she blew out a needless breath of air.

"Oh you mean how we freed the witches and rescued Claire?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she looked over at Klaus. She crossed her arms as well, but noticed that only seemed to bring his attention to the swell of her breasts in the tightly clinging tank top that she was wearing, so she stopped doing that immediately. "And managed to take down a number of vampires while we were doing it. You should be happy; we eliminated at least twenty of your opposition."

"Yes, I'm ecstatic that you could have gotten killed," Klaus growled, attention moving from her body to her face, annoyed with her cocked brow.

"Can't die, remember?" she reminded, wiggling her fingers at him. "Harbinger thing. I'm like as indestructible as you are right now." Caroline looked away from him and toward the board. "Besides, I already told you that you don't get to order me around. We can have a discussion and reach a mutual agreement about something, but I'm not letting you lord all over me. Twenty-first century girl here and I don't let boys tell me what to do."

Not anymore.

She wasn't in the mood for an argument though and glanced over at Elijah, hoping to steer the discussion in a different direction. "And since Klaus came in with blood all over him as well, I'm gonna guess that you two had to deal with a few kills as well. Any idea who or how many?"

"I've already taken the liberty of pulling off who we killed on our side," Klaus told her, though he was hardly done with the conversation and her attempt to steer it elsewhere. "You're foolishly playing a game you know nothing about, sweetheart. The lengths Marcel will go to in order to get retribution for what you did is far above anything that you're used to."

"Says the Hybrid who stuffed Carol Lockwood's head into a fountain," Caroline muttered, crossing her arms in annoyance. Though that hadn't been directed at her and maybe he was right. She hadn't dealt with anyone purposefully striking out against her by hurting the people she loved. Except for Silas, but he was locked away and her mother was safe. People she loved had been hurt before, but it hadn't ever been because of her. Aside from when Katherine was trying to manipulate her, but that vampire was human now and shouldn't be a problem.

"And that had nothing to do with you," Klaus reminded, stepping toward her. "If I had wanted revenge on you, Caroline, I would have known exactly where to strike, just as I did with Tyler. Be thankful that Marcel does not know who you are." Because there was little doubt in his mind that the other vampire wouldn't string all of her friends up by their necks in the middle of Bourbon Street and tear out their hearts if he knew. It was what he would have done if he was in the other vampire's position. Perhaps he should see if the witches could keep an eye on the rest of Caroline's friends as a safe guard.

"Yet. He doesn't know who I am  _yet._ " Because there would come a time when the vampire would definitely know who she was and would want to strike out at her for her part in everything. "So help me play the game because we both know I can't just walk away from  _this_." Caroline waved at the cards, but looked over her shoulder at Klaus as well, because like it or not, she couldn't walk away from everything developing between the two of them either.

Elijah watched the two, fascinated by the dynamic between them but kept his mouth shut. He wanted to see precisely where this conversation led and was impressed that Caroline wasn't backing down from her position. Not to mention the fact Klaus hadn't lashed out at the girl for her own accusations against his character.

"People I love are always going to be threatened once anyone knows who I am," Caroline continued, looking back at the board. Because of what she had become and also because of the Hybrid standing behind her, his hand sliding up her back to tangle in her hair. Once people knew how he felt about her they would see her as the perfect weakness to strike at, and one way to cause her a blow was to harm her family and friends. It was a fact she couldn't get away from and one she needed to learn how to handle. "This is why I have the Coven."

Sort of. Caroline wasn't entirely sure just how much they were on her side considering she was a vampire. Something that most witches seemed to despise. "I think it might be best if you didn't try and rely too heavily on them," Klaus told her, and she had to step away from him then because she felt herself leaning back into his touch and that was not helpful with their current conversation. "They don't seem to trust you as much as they did previous Harbingers."

"As much as I hate to admit this, Niklaus is correct. There seems to be some disagreement among the faction of whether or not you can be true to your job," Elijah stated, and Caroline turned to look at the older Original, almost having forgotten that he had been in the room. "Though, I believe that might change some once they know what you were willing to do for the New Orleans' witches. Once Rebekah and I made sure Claire, Caleb and Cecile were reunited with the others, we overheard them talking about what you had done and who you were. I do think that may sway quite a few to your side."

"I'm going to let those who aren't leave the city and return to their families," Caroline told him, turning around so she could face both of them. "I don't want to deal with anyone who isn't really loyal or whatever. I'd rather earn it than force it down someone's throat."

"Sometimes a little force is a necessary evil, but I'm certain you've seen the failure that can happen when one only relies on it," Elijah replied, and Caroline pressed her lips together, noting that Klaus seemed to bristle at the implication. His brother did have a point, but no doubt the Hybrid wasn't in the mood to hear about his own failings. "I believe I should go and check on Hayley now and leave you to finish this."

"Oh yes, go fawn over the woman carrying the prize you wish to collect," Klaus chided, lips curving into a cruel smile and purposefully not looking at Caroline in that moment. "That child will not live to see its first breath and you know it as well as I, Elijah, and if it somehow survives, the chances of it living past its birth are very slim."

"Klaus!" Caroline pressed her fingers to her temples, knowing this was an instance of him lashing out because he was hurting but god how she wanted to smack him. Elijah was looking at him with a mixture of pity and horror, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"The girl ordered wolfsbane," Klaus continued, walking away from the two to pour a glass of Scotch. "It's only a matter of time before she gets rid of the monster she has in her womb."

"It's not a monster. It's a baby." Elijah glared at his brother's back. " _Your_  child, and while I know that means little to you in this moment, there will come a day you will regret those words." He sped out of the room before anything else could be said and Caroline sighed, shaking her head as she looked back over at Klaus.

"And you're okay with Hayley just killing it, without your approval?" she asked, watching him carefully.

"We've had this discussion before, Caroline," Klaus pointed out. "That child would have no life worth living. An existence controlled completely, always at risk and forever vulnerable even if it does carry the werewolf gene. Death at this stage would be a mercy."

"You really believe that," she murmured, looking away from him and back at the wall of cards. He was right. Once anyone knew the baby belonged to him his enemies would do everything in their power to destroy it in order to get to him. "They'll use me against you too." Caroline glanced back at him, watching as he nodded in assent to her assessment. "Wouldn't it be easier to snuff out my existence as well?"

"If you'll remember I tried to let you die once," Klaus pointed out, placing the glass down on the table, and she nodded, remembering those days in Elena's living room all too well. "I'd rather not ever experience those fleeting seconds where I thought you were gone for good ever again." He headed toward her, stopping so he was standing in front of her, hands reaching out to settle on her shoulders. "Which is why you won't go directly against what I say anymore."

Caroline scoffed at that, pushing his hands off of her as she rolled her eyes. "That's not discussing it and so not going to fly anyway," she told him, walking away to hop up on the table again so she could look over who was left standing. "But nice try."

Klaus followed her, stopping before her again. "I could lock you away while I murder them all. Take down Marcel's army, leave his head for his followers to see and paint the streets red with any of the witches who try to claim victory over me," Klaus informed her, hands sliding down her sides to delve under the bottom of her tank top and tease the flesh he found there. "Set my werewolves loose on them, send your Coven packing, and bring you back out only when the fight is over and you're safe to roam about."

She couldn't help but shiver slightly at his touch, hands moving to grasp his own and still them. "I'd never forgive you."

"Forever is a long time, Caroline," Klaus replied with a smile and she knew he was right. How long would she be able to hold a grudge about that? In a hundred years would she still hate him for keeping her out of harm's way?

"Maybe, but you'd have to deal with me hating you for at least a century," Caroline pointed out, leaning forward to brush her lips against the stubble on his jaw and slide her hands under his Henley. "Which means there'd be one hundred years where I couldn't do this and we've barely even scratched the surface of what we can do together so you know…" She shoved him back. "Learn to compromise."

She slid off of the table then, intent on smirking at him, but the heat in his gaze as he looked at her, had her swallowing hard instead. "I'm going out there, I'm doing my part in this war because it's not only my duty but I also happen to care what happens. However I am willing to concede some things so I can show you how it's done," she continued, smoothing out her tank top. "I'll take you as my buddy from now on. Or anyone you explicitly trust and deem worthy enough to keep me safe. Which, by the way, your sister did, so stop being cruel to her."

"I believe that was what we said before and you ran off into the crowded street," Klaus pointed out, watching her every movement.

"Extenuating circumstances," Caroline snorted, remembering the events that had led up to that. "And before you try and bring up this time, I was with Rebekah and she was listed as one of the people I could go out with. You just don't like where we went."

"Then we're going to need to narrow that list down to simply me," Klaus replied, narrowing his eyes as he remembered the shock of seeing her and his sister in that room. At first he had thought the blood on Caroline had been her own and that had hit him hard.

Caroline rolled her eyes at that. "Fine." See, her expression said, look at me compromising. "We're going to need to go see the witches soon. They can't stay in a cemetery forever." This fight was going to need to come to a head and be dealt with so everyone involved could move on. "Are your mysterious other troops going to be ready to go soon?"

"By tomorrow they'll be stationed where they need to be." He and Elijah had done all they could in order to collect those loyal enough to be brought in and the wolves he had secured knew their part. A few well-placed reminders of what would happen if any of them failed were already being sent out, though he had decided to simply remind the wolves of what their jobs were seeing as they seemed to actually be loyal to him. If that proved to be wrong he could end them easily enough.

"We should probably go see the witches now then," Caroline murmured, pushing hair out of her face. "I need to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to get Marie out of Davina so that the other witches can have their powers back." And if anyone knew the answer it had to be the witches. Not for the first time she wished Bonnie was around. Her friend might have had some insight as well.

She turned, knowing she needed to be wearing something aside from the shorts and tank top she had thrown on if she was going to do that. "Not everyone will survive this, Caroline," Klaus stated and she looked back at him. "That girl might be one of them who doesn't. She's lived sixteen years away from her family, had a hand in ending the lives of her family and the rest of her would-be Coven. What kind of mental toll do you think that will take on a teenage mind?"

Caroline turned back to him. "Are you saying I should kill her?" Because god, it was an option and one she hadn't wanted to consider. How would the girl deal with the knowledge of all that she had taken part in, at who she had helped to kill? But killing her? Caroline wasn't too sure that was the answer.

"Don't be surprised if she does it to herself," Klaus murmured, walking over to her with his hands behind his back. "And these witches that you saved, while the younger generations may not have had a hand in the darkness that has a firm hold over this city, the older ones helped create that. There is another purpose that they have been keeping from all of us. Most likely from their brethren as well and I think it might be time for us to get to the heart of that."

"Maybe Cecile and Caleb can uncover some of that," Caroline figured that might work. They would probably be willing to trust fellow witches.

"Ah yes, your witch friend." Klaus pressed his lips together, trying to look contrite as he glanced at her and she sighed, knowing whatever he was about to say wouldn't please her. "There may have been some compulsion involved."

"What did you do?" Caroline demanded, hands pressed against her hips as she regarded him coolly.

"I already removed it," Klaus waved his hand, wanting the matter to be over, but from her annoyance he knew he wouldn't get off that easy. "I needed a way to ensure the Coven was not about to leave us high and dry and so I relied on Cecile's love of her grandson to get the job done."

Caroline pressed her hands to her forehead before sliding them through her hair, clutching at the back of her neck as she let out a needless breath. "It's like you purposefully sabotage yourself," she groaned, her gaze turning to the ceiling.

"Would you like to know why Cecile did not want you coming out?" Klaus replied, and she looked at him then in confusion and unsure she liked the smile on his face. "It had nothing to do with Marcel not learning who you were and everything to do with you being unable to invite Elijah or I into the Harbinger house."

She frowned at that information. "Everyone has their own agenda here," she muttered, unable to contain the bitterness she was feeling.

"They usually do, sweetheart," Klaus told her, watching her closely. "But my agenda most certainly includes keeping you alive." And could she say that for any of the others?

"I know." Caroline looked back at him, still frowning. But what was the rest of his agenda? She knew he wanted to be King, to take back New Orleans as his own, but what would that mean for the city in the end? Was Klaus what New Orleans needed? "I'm going to go change so we can go meet with the witches."

"They're not going anywhere," Klaus murmured, and had her pressed against the nearest wall before she could say a word. Her hands were against his chest, and while before she might have pushed him away and tried to maneuver out of this very situation, Caroline no longer wanted to. Instead she curled her fingers in his shirt, trying to keep him close as he stared down at her. She couldn't quite make out the emotion in his eyes, but she licked her lips in anticipation and that seemed to be all Klaus needed to capture her lips in a bruising kiss.

She kissed him back with all she had, forgetting everything else they were supposed to be doing for a moment. His hands moved from the wall to slide under her tank top, gliding over her back before snaking around to her stomach and teasing the skin along her shorts. Caroline hummed as Klaus ended the kiss, his lips trailing kisses along her jaw and down her neck. When his teeth nipped her skin, careful not to break through, she couldn't help but let her eyes close and head drop back against the wall, giving him more access to her tender skin.

He was the Hybrid and his bite was lethal to her, something she knew all too well, but there was no fear for what might happen, only anticipation and want for him to keep up his movements. But when his hands skirted the underside of her breasts, Caroline gasped, eyes widening and she shoved him off of her, her strength causing him to stumble back a few feet.

"I'm going to change," she told him, keeping her voice as steady as she could make it as she smoothed down her tank top again. Caroline turned and exited the room as calmly as she could because she knew her own face matched his in expressing her desire to have him right then and there against that wall. But there were more important matters to address than her overactive hormones and she wasn't going to allow herself to give into them until Klaus got it through his thick skull that he couldn't control her.

"Hurry back, sweetheart," Klaus called after her, smirking as he watched her shiver at his words before she disappeared up the stairs.

* * *

Hayley looked down at the crib that Tyler and her had eventually managed to put together. It had taken a lot of cooperation on their part, but it seemed knowing they were somewhat in their current situation together and that the child growing in her womb wasn't Klaus' had spurred the two of them into actually working together. Not that she wanted her child to ever set a toe in the current crib. She hoped to be gone from New Orleans and all the crazy bullshit that seemed to encompass the town long before her child was born.

Maybe Tyler would come with her because she had no idea how she was supposed to raise a kid. How she would make sure it would be safe and well fed and a whole bunch of other things she knew were vital for an actual upbringing. Things she had been privy to before her wolf gene activated. Plus having Tyler around would mean access to money. She knew he was the only heir to the Lockwood fortune and if she got him to come and help with the baby, to fall in love with her baby and help raise it, then maybe they wouldn't have to resort to living in the woods to survive.

A girl could dream.

"Is it true?" Elijah asked from the doorway, startling Hayley from her thoughts. He had been watching her for a few moments, and the young woman standing in front of the crib, hand pressed against her stomach, didn't look like one who would do as Klaus had suggested. But he had to know if his brother had been correct and figure out how to keep the girl from following through.

"Is what true?" Hayley asked, trying to smile through her confusion. Katherine's words rang in her head and she knew she needed to get this Original on board or there was no telling what that heartless bitch might do to her.

"Did you order wolfsbane?" Elijah demanded and from her wary expression he knew that she had. This was not the outcome he had wanted to hear or maybe it was, because the other option was that Klaus had maliciously lied to him and he still clung to what little faith he did have in his brother. "Where is it?"

"Tyler got rid of it," Hayley told him, picking up the teddy bear from the crib and positioning it in front of her body as if that would help protect her somehow. "I had a moment of weakness, but you can't blame me for that. Not when we both know that as soon as this baby is born Klaus will dispose of me."

If the bastard even allowed the child to be born. She wasn't entirely sure he would allow such a thing to happen.

"I would protect you from his wrath, Hayley," Elijah told her, and she shook her head at that. How could he protect her from his brother's wrath when he couldn't even do the same for himself or his siblings?

"Elijah," Tyler greeted as he walked into the room, and Hayley stared at the boy, wondering why he had come upstairs. Usually he avoided the Originals if they visited. "We need to talk."

Hayley shook her head at him. No. They had agreed to not let the Originals in on Katherine's plan and to lay low and get out as soon as Klaus was taken care of. It was the simplest way for them to be safe and out of the warpath of everything that would be happening. Tyler ignored her though, refused to even look at her and she knew he was going back on their plan.

"I already know of the wolfsbane. Thank you for getting rid of it," Elijah told him, still looking at Hayley, and trying to come up with how he would be able to protect her from Klaus.

"No, this is about Katherine," Tyler continued, and the Original looked over at him, shocked to be hearing his former lover's name. From the dark look on the boy's face, Elijah knew he wouldn't like what the boy had to say.

"Tell me everything," Elijah sighed, wondering what the hell Katerina had gotten herself into this time.

* * *

Caroline knocked on the door again, hearing Rebekah moving around inside of the room. "It's...me?" she offered, unsure whether that would get the girl to open the door for her considering she still wasn't talking to anyone.

A second later Rebekah wrenched the door open and pulled Caroline into the room before slamming the door shut behind her. "What do you want?" Rebekah demanded, flouncing back over to the broken vanity and taking a seat.

Caroline looked around the room, not at all surprised by the mess the other girl had created considering everything, and then back at Rebekah. At least the other girl wasn't glaring daggers at her like she had assumed she would. "Your brother and I are going out to talk to the witches. Want to come?"

"Why on Earth would I want to spend a second of my time with that insufferable idiot?" Rebekah replied, now looking at Caroline as though she had lost her mind.

"Because it would annoy him. Probably even more so when the witches actually like you a bit because you helped save their lives," Caroline offered with a shrug. Also she didn't' like the idea of Rebekah sulking away in her room, but she wasn't going to force the other girl to go. She figured she should offer some kind of olive branch considering it was her fault that the two siblings were angry with one another.

"I suppose he does deserve to be annoyed," Rebekah mused and rose from her chair. "I swear though that if you two start making googley eyes at one another I'm going to stake myself."

"Oh ha ha," Caroline rolled her eyes, and turned around to head out of the room, Rebekah following after her.

Klaus was waiting in the foyer, hands clasped behind his back and his smile disappeared as soon as he caught sight of Rebekah. "Done with your little tantrum, sister?" he sneered and Caroline shook her head, but was amused as Rebekah breezed past her and Klaus, heading to the door.

"You're one to talk considering you've been having one for a thousand years," Rebekah threw back, opening the door and heading down the stairs.

Caroline smiled brightly at Klaus who glared at her, knowing she had asked the other girl to come along and watched as she bounced down the stairs after Rebekah. No doubt these two would test his patience within minutes. He was about to head after them when his phone chimed, alerting him to a message. Klaus pulled it out, wondering who was contacting him. Considering all the plans currently coming together he couldn't blow off contact like he wanted.

There was a new email and he narrowed his eyes as he realized it was from Marcel and there was a video attachment. "Back inside," Klaus demanded, turning around and heading back before either of the others could protest.

Caroline had been about to do just that, but something about his stance had her following after him, Rebekah close behind her. "Klaus," she started, watching him head over to the laptop and flip it open.

After what they had done, Marcel had to be contacting them for a reason and a video message had to mean it was something meaningful. Something that needed to be seen  _now._  Klaus held up a hand, silencing whatever Caroline wanted to say as he opened his mail and then the video attachment. The girls headed around to stand next to Klaus as the video began to play.

Marcel appeared on the screen in a room that none present could identify. "Hello, old friend. I thought about doing this in person, but there were so many variables that could have gone wrong that doing the deed and then sending it to you in the aftermath seemed like a better option."

The vampire rose from the chair he had been sitting on, the camera following him as took a step forward. "You came into my home and broke my rules. While you may think you're invincible, we both know that's a lie. You taught me everything I know, Klaus, and one of those things was to not let the heart guide you because it'll betray you in the end."

Marcel stopped moving and motioned to Camille who sat in a chair. "Something you reminded me of the other night by exploiting my weakness with this one." He brushed the bartender's hair off her face, smiling down at her. The woman was staring at the camera, her face betraying nothing about how she felt in that moment. But her eyes, they already looked dead inside. Caroline knew that look all too well. She had seen it in her father's when he had refused to complete the transition. When Bonnie's mother had decided to leave because she couldn't cope with what had happened. It was the face of someone resigned to their fate.

"Well," Marcel snapped her neck. "Now she can't complete the transition and she can't be a weakness anymore."

Caroline pressed her hands against the table at the sight of it, Marcel still chatting away on the video. "He's as crass as ever," Rebekah muttered, frowning at the laptop screen while Klaus remained silent, watching what would happen next.

"You took my heart so I feel it's only fair that I break yours now," Marcel continued, and Caroline tensed, really not liking where this was headed at all. The camera panned out and she gasped as it revealed her mother sitting bound in a chair.

"No," she muttered, shaking her head as she gripped the table. Oh god no. How could this have even happened? Her mother was supposed to be in Mystic Falls. The witches were supposed to be watching her. She wasn't supposed to be in New Orleans.

"And I'm told this is the person who your heart holds most dear," Marcel stated as he walked over to Liz. "Any last words that you'd like to say, Sheriff?"

Sheriff Forbes glared at him, her hatred shining through in her eyes before she turned her attention to the camera. Her expression softened immediately and there was no fear in her eyes, only love being directed at the camera in hopes that Caroline would see it. "I love you so much, Caroline," she began and Caroline's knees gave out. She would have fallen to the ground but Klaus caught her, trying to steady her as her mother kept speaking on the video. "You have always been my little girl and nothing will ever change that. And you keep on being that bright, beautiful, strong girl that I know you are."

Caroline hit at Klaus' chest, clawed at his hands, trying to get out of his grasp even if she had no idea where she was going to go or what she was going to do. She needed to find her mother, to somehow save her from what was about to happen, but that was the problem and her brain knew it. This wasn't a live feed. It had already happened and there was no way she could prevent it from happening. "No, mommy, no," she whimpered, pressing her hands to her mouth before trying to reach out to touch the screen, to be connected to her mother.

"Klaus will see this?" Liz continued, looking over at the other vampire, and Marcel nodded. Liz looked back at the camera, her expression hardening. "Klaus. Don't you dare let this change her."

Caroline sobbed at that, face pressing into Klaus' chest as Marcel plunged his hand into her mother's chest and pulled out her heart. "A heart for a heart," the vampire stated with a grin and Caroline clenched her eyes shut as he bit into the organ, her mother's blood smearing his face.

"Remember, Caroline, you can thank Klaus for this death. If you'd never met him, your mother would still be alive," Marcel continued before the video ended.

Rebekah reached over and closed the laptop. "I'll go find Elijah," she murmured, leaving the room to give the other two some privacy.

"Caroline," Klaus started, holding her tightly against his body as he smoothed hand down her hair, trying to offer comfort as best he knew how. She was having none of it, shaking in his grip, sobs wracking her entire body.

"No no no. It's not real. It can't be…" But she knew it was. Her mother was dead and unlike when Silas had tried to kill her, no amount of vampire blood would bring her back. She had always known that eventually she would have to live in a world without her mother, but not now and not like this. It was too soon and too violent. "She was supposed to die in her sleep."

On a sunny beach somewhere when she was well into her eighties. She'd have been retired and maybe dating some older man with a killer body and Caroline would visit her and they'd spend hours chatting while lying out in the sun.

But there would be no sunny beaches, no more late night phone calls, and no random texts, nothing more from her mother. "I need...funeral...and I think there's...I can't remember if she wanted to be buried by my dad," she breathed out, her mind a war of trying to be a mess of emotions and wanting to start diving into all the plans that would need to happen now. How was she supposed to tell the deputies...everyone in Mystic Falls…

It was all too much.

First Bonnie and now her mother.

A little voice in her head kept murmuring that it would be so easy to stop feeling the pain that wanted to eat her alive if she just flipped the switch and turned it all off. There would be no pain, no misery at seeing her mother's heart being pulled out of her chest over and over again. No worry over who might be next on Marcel's hit list. She would be able to just float away and not care about any of it.

Caroline was so close to doing it, but she didn't want to forget the pain. She didn't want to forget how much she loved her mother or her friends or anyone. One thing she had learned was that with life came pain among all the happiness. Sorrow was just part of the deal and she knew she couldn't tarnish her mother's memory by shutting it all off and not grieving her properly. No matter how much it hurt.

Caroline stopped hitting Klaus and shifted, clinging tightly to him, arms wrapping around his neck as she pressed her face into his shoulder. Klaus tightened his grip on her, reminded of when he had been in Tyler's body and she had believed Tyler was dying. He had offered her what comfort he could back then, uncertain what the outcome of anything would be, and he would be damned if he couldn't do so now. Even if he wasn't entirely certain how to console Caroline.

"I want his heart," Caroline cried, not caring in that moment how that sounded. She did want it. She wanted it torn out of his body and laying on the floor like her mother's was now.

"And you will have it, love," Klaus promised, running a hand through her hair, but that only seemed to make Caroline sob harder. "As well as the hearts of any who helped him to do this."

He held her closer, wishing he could take on her own pain, but knew there was no way to do that. So instead he would offer her what comfort he could while mentally planning how to make those who had hurt her suffer tenfold for what they had done.


	20. Chapter 20

_We are the jack-o-lanterns in July_  
_Setting fire to the sky_  
_Here it comes, this rising tide  
_ _So come on_

* * *

Caroline wasn't sure how long they had stayed in the same position, her arms wrapped tightly around Klaus, face pressed into his neck as she cried for her mother, for everything that she had lost in that moment. Klaus didn't let her go; one arm locked tightly around her waist, holding her close as his other was buried in her hair, stroking it softly. Eventually she focused on his voice, listening to him whisper what he would do to all those who had taken part in her mother's death, lips brushing against her forehead every so often.

She was certain she should be feeling disgusted by what he was describing, the horrific ways he would make the witches who had failed to safeguard her mother pay, the torture for whoever had brought her down to New Orleans, and the crowning glory of Marcel watching the city he loved, that he thought he had won, continue on without him before his heart was torn from his chest. But she didn't, the words soothed her own rage that had begun blossoming in her heart and wanted to take control of her own actions, and Caroline was grateful that Klaus had a plan for how to get justice for her mother when she was too far gone in her grief to do more than cling to him and cry.

"I keep thinking that if I'd just compelled her like I thought of doing so many times she'd be alive, you know?" Caroline murmured, still not moving from where she was tucked against his body. "She'd be off on a beach somewhere, living it up, and no one would know who she is...was...and no one would be able to find her and she'd be alive. But I know that's  _wrong_. That I shouldn't want to have controlled her life, but….maybe it'd be better than this pain of losing her."

"You can't lose a brother if he's locked safely away in a box," Klaus replied quietly, and Caroline pressed her lips to his neck, knowing he was referring to Kol and remembering how devastated he had seemed to her for a moment or two before all the chaos had erupted between them in the Gilbert living room. "There are times you need to control your family's lives because they do not know what is best for them."

His grip tightened on her and she couldn't help the chill that ran through her at that thought, remembering Rebekah's warnings. "Eventually they forgive." Even if they never quite forgot and the forgiveness seemed to be taking its sweet time this round.

"Do they?" she murmured, unsure if that was the case because it didn't seem like Rebekah was in a very forgiving mood. "Family isn't meant to stay together forever. You're supposed to make your own eventually and see the blood ones or whatever on like important holidays. Not be around one another twenty-four seven. How can you ever grow up if you're with people who've known you since you were a baby and expect you'll always behave a certain way and don't...I don't know...push you to be who you can be instead of who you've always been to them." She had no clue where that had come from and sighed, not wanting to deal with this heavy of a conversation on top of everything else. "But maybe that's a more twenty-first century kind of mindset. I don't know." And her head was too much of a mess to really contemplate it.

"It used to be that the woman would leave behind her family and become part of her husband's upon marriage," Klaus told her, hand stroking though her hair. "There have been many different customs and changes over the years." He stared off at that, but continued to soothingly brush her hair. "Everything changes with time, Caroline, but you control how it affects you."

"I don't have a family anymore." Both her parents were dead and she'd never had siblings, barely talked to her aunts.

"You're hardly alone though," Klaus murmured into her hair, and she closed her eyes, knowing he was right about that. "And we will destroy those who Marcel deems to be his family before killing him as well. I did promise you his heart."

The time for tears was over and Caroline knew it. There would be time to mourn her mother later, after they retrieved her body and she could give her a proper funeral service. All the trivial human matters of burial and contacting everyone and the will could all wait. They had to wait because Caroline knew that Marcel expected this to throw Klaus off his game, for what he had done to drive a wedge between her and Klaus. Caroline knew though that her mother would have been fair game to the other vampire as soon as he knew she was the Harbinger though and even if she hadn't been, Klaus couldn't be held accountable for an enemy trying to strike out at him through hurting her.

"Is there a specific reason you wanted to wait until tomorrow to get everyone together and strike at Marcel?" Caroline murmured as she reached up to wipe at her face and clear it of tears.

Klaus brushed his lips against her temple one more time. "Only because the last of the vampires I wanted in the area would be here then." Mostly Elijah's Canadian lot, but the time for playing nice, for thinking any of the current vampires in New Orleans would be allowed to live another day was done. He didn't care if any of them even dared swear loyalty to him any longer. He wanted all of them to burn.

"He's going to expect us to wait, to not retaliate today because I'm pretty damn sure he expected that murdering my mother..." And god how that hurt to say, her voice breaking for a moment as she uttered the words. "He'll think it will have caused some kind of rift between us." Here was where she should start thinking that there wasn't anything between them, but time for denial had passed, and Caroline had more important things to worry about than her own internal warfare between her mind and her heart. "But he was wrong and we should go now when he's not expecting us. The wolves will be ready. Your siblings.  _Me_."

Because she was going out into that madness and nothing Klaus did or said would keep her from doing so. "I think it's time Marcel learns exactly who he screwed with," Caroline continued, pulling back from Klaus and staring him straight in the eye. "I need to know how to sever Davina and Marie's connection though before Marcel loses his heart and we need to be ready because as soon as that connection is gone and the other witches have their powers back…"

"Do you honestly think I don't have plans for that?" Klaus replied, arching a brow at her as he smoothed hair from her face. "And failsafes in case the current one doesn't quite work?"

Caroline shook her head, unable to help smiling a little at that. A thousand years of running, of working to break a curse his mother had placed on him, of planning his father's own funeral, Caroline knew that Klaus was a planner. He just did it in relation to things she'd never dreamed of instead of the parties and festivals and carnivals she'd planned in her short eighteen years. "I think I'd be disappointed if you didn't," she murmured, and his words from a few months back rang in her head.

_We're the same, Caroline._

She was still learning just how right he had been in that assessment of the two of them, and while on some level that scared her because of what he was capable of doing-what she had seen him do to the people she loved, to even those she hated-Caroline also knew she was capable of pretty much anything if it meant helping those she cared about as well. Sometimes when she really looked him in the eye, she wondered if it was like looking into her own soul, that when she watched him work it was like looking at a distorted reflection of her future self if she took the same path that he had thrust into living. But where he had painstakingly tried to strip himself of his human qualities, tried to deny those parts of him, Caroline had clung to them and even though her mother was dead and Liz Forbes had been a big reason Caroline had continued on with some of the trivialities of human life, she knew she wouldn't be getting rid of some of those parts of her any time soon.

There was no one hunting her to the ends of the earth, her mother had died loving her, not betraying her, and even her father had died partially accepting what she had become. Klaus hadn't gotten any of that in his life. He had his siblings, but Caroline wondered how so many years on the run from the man they called father, with all the constant wars and hardships and betrayals...how had that screwed with their minds, with their relationships to one another?

Now wasn't the time to contemplate any of that though and she tried to fix her hair that had become a mess of curls haphazardly tangled because of her sobbing.

"And I want my mom's body back. He's not allowed to have it." Not any longer than he already had.

Klaus nodded, already knowing that was something she would want. He had been the same about Kol's remains after his brother's death. "And we shall get it back."

"I need to talk to the witches so let me wash my face and change into something more appropriate for destroying our enemies and then we can go and do that." Because the sundress she had on was not going to work. Or maybe it was a fitting way to go into that den of vampires and bring blood raining down over their heads, swathed in light. She wasn't sure, but she did know she needed to fix her make up. I'll be back down in a minute." She untangled herself from him before he could say a word and headed up the stairs.

Klaus watched her go, smile tugging at his lips because of what she had said.  _Our enemies._  It was as if he had been handed everything he wanted in two simple words and Caroline had no clue how that simple statement would affect him. The sunlight pouring in from the windows seemed to bathe her in light as she headed away from him and for a moment he was reminded of finding her in that room with Rebekah and the witch, blood spattered all over her form.

_My beautiful blonde avenging angel._

He was certain that Caroline had no idea how powerful, how strong she could become considering just how much strength she already had at such a young age, but he looked forward to being her guide on that journey of self-discovery.

"You do realize that if you do take back this city from Marcel and you become that terrible, fearsome tyrant that he tried to emulate, that as the Harbinger she'll be forced to take you down," Rebekah stated from the doorway, breaking Klaus from his thoughts. "And will your love for her prevail then or will you do what you always do when threatened? Will you end up killing her?"

"I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself, sister," Klaus snapped, glaring at her as he rose from where he had been sitting. He had meant it when he had told Caroline that he couldn't go through nearly losing her by his own or any other's hands again. Those fleeting seconds when he had thought he had been too late to save her after being so set on letting her die had terrified him more than anything else ever had. More than Mikael's constant hunting, more than Esther's return, more than anything. There would be a way to keep Caroline with him and still prevail as king.

Klaus's expression changed to amusement, and he tilted his head, regarding Rebekah with a malicious smile. "Or would you prefer living out the next century in a box again. Maybe this time you'll wake and remember what it means to be a loyal sister."

It was Rebekah's turn to glare at him then, not surprised he went for the dagger card. "How can I when you haven't given me reason to be loyal to you in years?" she asked, holding her head high as she clenched her fits at her sides.

"Did lying in that coffin cloud your memory, Rebekah?" Klaus inquired, pressing his lips together as he stared at her. "Mikael was after us, had  _found_  us, and you foolishly wanted to run off into the sunset with Stefan. What would have happened if I had allowed that? You would have been dead in a week. Or are you referring to a more recent time when you brought that upon yourself. Love sick fool."

"I would have been happy," she protested, stomping her foot at what she felt were his absurd claims. "We could have hid. Stefan and I. We could have gone far away and lived happily together. It wasn't me that father wanted. He'd have kept searching for you."

Klaus laughed at that, shaking his head as he stepped forward until he was right in front of Rebekah. "Don't be so naive, Rebekah. Mikael would have used you to draw me out and I couldn't have that, but you never were one to see the bigger picture. Always too stuck on finding something you don't understand." He shrugged and took a step back from her, waving a hand in the air as he continued. "Besides, Stefan would have left you the minute he met the doppelganger and all your talk of love and happiness would have been for nothing."

"You don't know that," Rebekah replied, glowering at him. "I could have been happy, but once again you decided to make my decisions for me. To take my chance at happiness away from me so I'd be forced to remain by your side"

"You don't know how to be happy, little sister," Klaus grinned at her, but there was no warmth to it.

"Neither do you," she snapped back, but both of their attention was diverted to Caroline coming down the stairs, still wearing the white sundress from earlier but no longer looking as though she had been crying for the last hour.

"I'm learning," Klaus murmured as he stepped around Rebekah and headed over to the young vampire.

Caroline looked between the two, noting the obvious tension, and wondered what she had missed. She'd been too lost in her own thoughts to bother with their conversation, but now she almost wished that she had decided to eavesdrop on them. "What happened?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Klaus.

He held up his hands, innocent smile on his face, and that only had her more convinced that he was the culprit for whatever mess had happened between the two. "Just a little sibling spat," Klaus informed her, and Rebekah snorted at that, clearly unimpressed with his definition of what had occurred. "Nothing for you to worry about."

Caroline glanced over at Rebekah who simply shrugged. "I'd say it's plenty for her to worry about," the Original replied, walking toward the front door. "After all, it's what might happen to her if she ever decides to leave. I'm sure her box will be decked out in royal finery fit for a queen."

"Dagger threats," Caroline rolled her eyes, stepping around Klaus to follow after Rebekah. She wondered if she would ever understand the intricacies of the Originals' relationships with one another.

"I'm sorry about your mother," Rebekah told her, waiting by the door and ignoring the dark look that Klaus was directing her way.

Caroline tilted her head, remembering Rebekah sharing a similar sentiment after they had thought Alaric had died. Hopefully this outing wouldn't end in torture. "I'm sorry your brother is an ass," Caroline replied, smoothing down the material of the white sundress she'd decided to keep wearing. She couldn't think of her mother in that moment, knew it would cause her to break down all over again, and she needed to focus, to be ready for all that was about to happen.

"Perhaps if Rebekah learned to hold her tongue she wouldn't find herself in such predicaments," Klaus offered, and Caroline looked back at him, arching a brow and her expression clearly saying _seriously_? His sister huffed at the statement, also in disagreement with his suggestion.

"Let's go antagonize some witches," Klaus continued, and Caroline rolled her eyes at that. She could only imagine how much of a headache this meeting was going to be.

* * *

"What did you do to me?" Camille demanded as she focused her attention on Marcel. She had been sitting on a chair one moment and the next she had felt his hands on her neck as he snapped it before nothingness consumed her. And now she was coming to in a bed?

None of it made sense.  _Nothing_  that she had experienced in the last twenty-four hours made sense. Everything she had ever been compelled to forget had come seeping back into her consciousness, images of what Klaus and his brother had done to the bar's patrons, having blood shoved down her throat before that madman had also snapped her neck.

She'd always known New Orleans was different than most cities, but  _this_  amount of insanity couldn't possibly be real. Was she having a breakdown? Was that what was happening? It was possible to start having episodes of blackout, of clouded memory at any age, and perhaps there was some sort of mental illness in her family that she'd been unaware of…

It didn't explain the craving she was currently feeling for blood. Not helped at all by the young man Marcel held in his lap, biting into his wrist. She sat up as the smell hit her, fangs descending immediately. He smiled at her, beckoning her over for a taste. "Now," he began, brushing her hair as she latched onto the boy's wrist, drowning herself in the taste of him as she greedily drank. "We can be together forever."

She didn't like the sound of that, the promise, the finality to it, and especially didn't like that she no longer heard the boy's heartbeat. He was dead or soon to be and she pulled away in horror at what she had done. She dropped the lifeless body to the ground and stared up at Marcel who smiled down at her. "You made me a monster," she muttered, wiping a trembling hand across her face.

He shrugged, nudging the boy's body further away with his foot. "A powerful, immortal monster that will never grow old, never die," Marcel told her, smiling brightly at the idea. One that would be with him always. His beautiful golden queen.

Camille shook her head in disgust at the very idea of it. "One that has to survive by killing others?" Like the poor kid lying on the floor.

"They don't have to die, but it brings a certain thrill to the meal," Marcel replied as he rose from the chair and walked away to study himself in the mirror.

Camille couldn't believe what he had said. Where was the charming man who had been trying to woo her for weeks? Had he planned for this to happen? She knew what she had become. Vampire. It wasn't that difficult to figure out and she knew how to destroy a vampire...if the myths were right at least. She broke the chair he had been sitting on moments before and pulled at one of the wooden legs. Before she had a chance to impale it through her chest, Marcel was at her side, yanking the offending object from her hand.

"If you  _ever_  try something so foolish again I will hunt down every remaining member of your family, every friend, every acquaintance you've ever had and kill all of them in the most horrific ways," Marcel growled at her, hand grasping her chin as he glared down at her. "Do you understand me?"

"You're a monster," she spat out, trying to wrench free from his grasp, but his fingers only tightened.

"Then you know I'll do it," Marcel replied, letting her go. "Now go freshen up so I can introduce you to the masses."

"Introduce me?" Why would that even be necessary?

"It's customary to let them know once the King has found his Queen," Marcel grinned, and leaned forward, pressing a kiss against her cheek. She flinched at the gesture, not at all liking what he had just said, what it all implied.

Camille watched leave the room, shuddering as she looked around the gilded cell that was to be her new home.

* * *

" _Excuse me?"_  Caroline stared at the elder witches from the New Orleans group and the Leseid one as if they had lost their minds. They must have. It was the only logical explanation for what they had told her. "In order for Davina to be broken free from Marie she has to  _die._  You're saying I have to kill a...what? She's just a kid!"

She raked her hands through her hair, settling them at the back of her neck as she stared at the ceiling of the mausoleum. "She's never got to have a life. How the hell is that fair?"

"You don't deal in fairness, Caroline," Cecile pointed out, and she refused to look at the older woman. Instead keeping her eyes locked on the ceiling above. "You deal in restoring the balance and the only way to do that is to give the witches of New Orleans back their power set. For them not to be running around barely charged and so easily manipulated."

"Maybe they should have thought of that before they tried to bring her spirit back or whatever," Caroline grumbled, finally looking out at them. She didn't like the amused grin on Klaus' face, no doubt at what she had just said. Especially because it contrasted so much with the dark frowns on the members of the two Covens that were present. "Okay, so killing Davina to free Marie's spirit, but I can use my powers on her, right? I mean there has to be a reason it's  _me_  that has to do it and not Klaus or one of you to do it."

"Yes," Claire replied, pleased that Caroline had figured that part out. "She'll die, temporarily, but she'll come back still as a witch. If a vampire did it or one of us, it wouldn't have the same effect. If we raise the dead, we distort the balance and Marie's spirit would only move onto another. If one the vampires turned her, she wouldn't come back as a witch and our power would be lost to us."

"And we wouldn't want that," Klaus chimed in, entirely too much amusement in his voice and Caroline shot him an annoyed look. He really had meant it what he'd said about antagonizing the witches because that was all he had been doing since they invited him onto the cemetery grounds. He simply grinned at her, wagging his eyebrows and she sighed, knowing there was no reasoning with him at the moment.

At least Rebekah seemed to not be trying to irritate the witches. Instead the other girl looked simply bored as she leaned back against the wall. Though she had perked up a bit when some of the witches they had rescued had profusely thanked her for saving their lives.

"Okay, got it," Caroline stated, before looking back at the witches. "Now for an important question." She turned her attention to Cecile. "Who was supposed to be watching my mother? If I remember correctly we were going to be sending some of the Coven to do that, right?" She reeled in her emotions, knowing now was not the time to let them get away from her. Especially because she didn't want to accidentally kill someone.

"We have a set of four up in Mystic Falls monitoring her," Cecile replied, though she stopped at the look on Caroline's face, and turned to one of the other members of the Coven beside her. "Go get me Anthony." The other witch hurried away. "What happened?"

"Whoever should have been watching her did a horrible job," Caroline informed her, trying to keep her voice from breaking. She couldn't afford more tears right then. "Marcel murdered my mother a few hours ago and I'd like to know how he managed to get her down here without anyone even knowing that was happening. Especially since that's your job isn't it? The Coven's? You're supposed to protect my loved ones because this is what happens. Once they know who I am, they'll want to kill them to get to me, or abduct them to try and sway me to their side. So I want to know how it even happened."

"And then what?" Cecile asked with that soothing tone that only seemed to annoy Caroline at the moment. She didn't want to be soothed, to be rationalized with. She wanted to know who had dropped the ball...and what? For them to pay? No...maybe. She wasn't sure, but she wanted to  _know_. She felt she deserved to know.

The other witch came back inside with a male one close on her heels. "Did you contact the witches we sent up to protect Sheriff Forbes?" Cecile asked, still looking at Caroline who had refused to answer her question.

"A deputy answered. Apparently they're all dead," Anthony informed them. "I didn't get any details outside of that because I'm not next of kin. I'll let their families know so that they can deal with them."

Caroline frowned at that revelation. Someone powerful enough to kill four witches from her coven...unless they had been blindsided. No one should have known who Liz Forbes was anyway, what her importance was, but somehow Marcel had learned who Caroline was and even if he didn't know exactly who she had become, he had somehow known precisely who to strike at in her life to cause a real blow. But  _how?_  That was the part that still confused her. How could that vampire have acquired that knowledge?

Rebekah's phone began ringing and she sighed, picking it out of her pants pocket. "Elijah. Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you all…" She trailed off, listening to her brother speak for a few moments.

Caroline could hear the whole conversation and shook her head as soon as Katherine's name was spoken.  _Katherine Pierce_. The vampire who had murdered her, who had blackmailed her, offered her up for sacrifice, and apparently who had informed Marcel of whom she really was and got her mother killed. She could feel the veins on her face coming out; her rage wanting to get the better of her, and her hands itched to release power, to let out her hatred that wanted to consume her.

Caleb entered the mausoleum at that moment, heading straight toward her and Caroline was surprised when he didn't back away from her current state, but wrapped her in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Caroline," he whispered and she hugged him back, forcing herself to breathe in and out so that she would calm down. It worked, the rage she was feeling slowly seeping out of her and she was thankful he had been there to help ground her in that moment.

"It seems I have a new heart to add to the list," Klaus muttered, and she glanced over at him, seeing the barely contained rage in his eyes, in the way he stood there, ready for a fight. "I think we've done enough talking for the day." He held out a hand to Caroline who stepped back from Caleb, offering the boy a small, grateful smile before she took Klaus' hand. "Let's go end this. Tell Elijah where to meet us, Rebekah."

His attention turned to the witches. "Don't think for a moment that I won't rip out all of your throats the minute one of you betrays us. Or perhaps a fate worse than death." He yanked Caroline forward before she could say anything, pushing her to walk up the stairs with Rebekah as he smiled maliciously at the witches who were all watching him.

"Ask Claire about that."

* * *

"God, we need to work on your people skills," Caroline muttered as she crossed over the cemetery threshold with Klaus and Rebekah. Elijah stood on the other side, nodding to the three of them. "Ever heard the phrase you get more flies with honey than vinegar?" Because all of the threats, threats, threats, had to be seriously off putting for the witches. Not that she really expected them to be lulled over either. Witches and vampires didn't generally mix well together unless the witch was benefitting in some way from the encounter.

"I'd prefer to exterminate the flies then use either honey or vinegar," Klaus replied with an all too entertained shrug. "Don't think for a second that they won't try to eliminate us the moment they get their power levels back."

"So why are we bothering to free the girl?" Rebekah asked as they headed toward Marcel's compound. "Why not just kill her and be done with it?" It seemed like the simplest solution.

Caroline glared at her for that. "She doesn't deserve to die because the rest of them are idiots," she muttered, having a feeling she was going to be the only one in their little group who cared about Davina's fate. "And I don't think the other witches are of the same mindset. The younger ones that we saved…." She paused, remembering their expressions as they had walked through the cemetery. "Did you see how they looked at the elder ones? Almost as if they blamed them for their current predicament…"

"If that's true, we'll be able to exploit that to our own gain," Elijah offered, and it sent a chill down her spine at how easily these three could think that way. He must have noticed because he continued on with the idea. "Caroline, when the elder ones come for us-which they most certainly will-you'll still be able to have your balance of witches even if those who oppose us are killed. After all, you need to restore a balance between vampires, werewolves and witches in New Orleans, do you not? And how can you do that if Niklaus has killed them all."

"Such faith in me," Klaus muttered, though he couldn't discount that the idea of murdering the entire lot of them hadn't crossed his mind. But having a witch around could turn out to be useful if they could be adequately controlled.

"It's as if he knows how you think," Rebekah replied, mocking surprise and smiled spitefully at her brother.

Caroline sighed in frustration. " _Wow._  Can we maybe not walk into a battle with you three being all glarey at each other?" Because seriously?! Weirdest family dynamic ever.

"Caroline!"

All four stopped and turned around at the sound of her name. They had been nearing Bourbon Street, and while it was the middle of the day, the crowds were beginning to pick up the closer they got to it. "Caleb?" She spotted the witch and a few others from her Coven, including his grandmother, walking toward them.

"We're coming with you," Cecile informed them, and Klaus pressed his lips together, not happy with that news. "You need Davina taken care of so that you can deal with the vampires. We'll keep her out of the way and retrieve Caroline's mother's body."

"Swear allegiance and you can stay," Klaus ordered, not wanting to waste time with doubtful loyalties. As much as he would love to simply dispose of the lot of them, he couldn't discount that they could be useful if they were unable to cause harm.

Caroline glared at him, not wanting that even though she knew it was probably for the best. She was about to protest it, tell them they didn't have to do that, when Caleb spoke, "I swear allegiance to the Harbinger."

The others followed suit and she shook her head, shuddering at the idea of them bursting into flames. "I get to deal with  _my_ Coven in  _my_  way, remember?" she growled at Klaus who simply smiled at her.

"I thought we didn't want bickering before we went into battle," he reminded her and it took so much effort for her not to stomp her foot on top of his so she settled for glaring. That only seemed to amuse him further.

"Let's just do this," Caroline snapped, whipping her hair back as she walked past him and toward Marcel's compound. Now or never had never seemed more apt in her entire life than in that moment.

* * *

Marcel leaned back against the chair, watching the beginnings of new tourists start to file into the club. He'd decided his followers deserved to have a little bit of fun after the chaos of the last two days. No doubt Klaus was having to deal with an overemotional Caroline upon seeing her mother's death. Perhaps tomorrow he'd have a piece of her delivered to keep the tortuous grieving process going. Maybe her head or a hand with the Sheriff's shield pressed into it.

He glanced around the room, spotting Camille in the corner, still seemingly in a daze as she too looked out at the dance floor, seeing what the others were doing. Her reluctance at what she had become annoyed him, but she was still so new he would give her a bit to become accustomed to her new life. And if she truly didn't adapt as he wanted her to then he'd dispose of her and find a new queen. Maybe take away the one that Klaus would be losing any day now.

A flash of white startled him from his thoughts and he spotted Davina standing in the doorway that led to the rest of the building. She was beckoning frantically for him to come over and he rose, immediately heading in her direction.

"They're coming," she breathed out before he could ask what was wrong, dropping a newly drawn sketch into his hands. He stared down at the Harbinger symbol and the fleur-de-lis symbol he had often associated with the Original family before crumpling it up and throwing it to the floor. This was not what he had expected. How the hell could they be working together? It made little sense to him for the Harbinger to want anything to do with them or for Klaus to not have already killed her.

Marcel headed to the stereo system, motioning for it to be turned off and after a loud groan from the dancers, all eyes focused on him. "Everyone get ready," he ordered, turning to leave the room but stopped at the threshold. "Dispose of the humans."

The doors closed to the sounds of terrified screams.

* * *

"Come out, come out wherever you are," Klaus taunted, stretching his arms out to the side as he neared the building.

He wasn't a fool. He knew there were vampires stationed on the rooftops as soon as the sun had begun setting. It was better this way, out on the street instead of confined to the insides of Marcel's compound. Not that it would have deterred his siblings or Caroline from what they were about to do, but there was something to be said about having adequate space during a fight.

Marcel walked out from the building, bright smile on his face. "I see you didn't take my warning to heart, Caroline," he shook his head in mock pity and she glared at him. "Don't worry; I'm sure there are a few others I can dispose of until you get the point. After all I hear you have a great many friends in Mystic Falls."

"Not yet," Klaus murmured, and Caroline knew it was directed at her. She forced herself to breathe in and out, keeping her powers at bay.

"I fail to see what it is that you hope to gain from all of this," Klaus continued, gesturing to the throngs of nightwalkers that appeared on the rooftops, others coming out of the building behind Marcel and from different alleyways. "Do you honestly think that you'll be capable of destroying us? Did you not listen to anything that I taught you?"

"Anything can be killed, Klaus, you just have to know how to do it," Marcel replied, motioning for someone to step out of the shadows. "And if not killed, then incapacitated long enough to be overwhelmed and trapped for eternity in a watery grave."

Davina stepped out at that moment, arm already raised as she silently muttered a spell, looking directly at the Originals and Caroline. The Originals dropped to their knees around Caroline, hands gripping their heads as pain coursed through them. "Why the hell isn't it affecting her?" Marcel demanded, as his nightwalkers nearest to the small group started to surge forward.

Klaus struggled through the pain, trying to right himself as he pushed through it, tried to master control over it and he managed to rise a bit, but Davina only upped her focus on him.

"You threaten my friends," Caroline started, letting the white light start to shine around her hands. "You  _murdered_  my mother." The nightwalkers hesitated, uncertain what was happening to her but instinct told them not to step forward anymore. "And now you want to lock people I care about in a  _watery grave_?"

Marcel's eyes widened in realization, knowing that spark. Caroline pulled out the necklace she'd been keeping hidden under the neckline of her dress and let it fall forward so he could see the symbol of the Harbinger, of Freyja. From the way he took a step back she knew he now realized exactly who she was. "I'm Caroline Forbes, daughter of Liz Forbes, Great Granddaughter of Valencia Valdis and current Harbinger of the world," she told him, head held high as she released a wave of light at the nearest set of vampires. "And  _you_ , Marcel, are not permitted to rule this city any longer."

Caroline walked forward, releasing energy as she moved, and the girl, Davina, looked at her in horror, dropping her hands. This was the girl of her nightmares, the one who would destroy everything she knew. She didn't' think, simply acted as she ran forward, intent on killing the girl, to stop her from laying a hand on Marcel. Caroline pulled in the light as soon as the girl neared her, switching to the dark light and let it engulf her as Davina finally made contact. The girl's hands wrapped around Caroline's neck, trying to squeeze the life out of her, but it didn't do anything to her. She didn't need air to breathe.

Davina looked so frightened, so fragile in that moment as chaos rained down around them. Caroline wondered how she would react when she learned that everything she had known was a lie. That the people she loved were only using her as a pawn in their games that her own people had done so as well. Was Klaus right and she should simply kill the girl permanently; put her out of her misery before she would ever know the truth? Was dying and thinking she was protecting people who loved her better than eventually surviving and learning that those people had never truly cared for her?

She didn't know the answer to any of that, but she did know that the girl couldn't be allowed this much power. It was screwing with the balance and she did need to fix that, no matter what else.

"I'm so sorry," Caroline whispered, and reached up, letting the dark light flow from her into the girl before she snapped her neck. Davina fell as a lifeless heap on top of her and Caroline stayed on the ground for a moment, unsure what exactly to do before pushing the girl off of her onto the street so she could sit up. It would take a few minutes before Davina woke up and Caroline had no idea how the immense amount of power that was contained inside of her would be dispersed back to the others.

Bodies were being thrown through the air, blood spattering on everything as Klaus and his siblings made quick work of the nightwalkers on the streets and the rooftops. Hearts, lungs, heads and other extremities seemed to litter the ground and Caroline pushed herself up from the ground, fangs descending as a vampire charged at her. She readied to take him down, growling when a hand burst through the back of his chest, yanking out his heart.

"I had him!" she protested, as the body dropped to the ground, revealing Klaus. The clouds around the moon drifted and she watched the way the red of the blood streaked across his face seemed to accentuate his Hybrid features. Was she seriously licking her lips at that site?  _Focus, Caroline._

He'd noticed it though, and Klaus's eyes narrowed as he looked at her, darkening in desire that couldn't be satiated at the moment. "What are we doing about the one's running away?" Rebekah asked as she used the sword of a fallen nightwalker to slice off the head of another. Their attention shifted to a few nightwalkers who had decided to run off instead of fight.

"Leave them," Klaus ordered, a malicious smile playing out on his lips. "They'll meet their own fate. The wolves are surrounding this area a few blocks out. Any vampire who makes it that way will suffer a rather nasty bite."

"And some of your wolves could end up dead," Caroline protested, knowing they could dispose of the nightwalkers who were fleeing instead.

"They know the risks." Klaus looked down at Davina's body and wondering where the witches were.

Caroline leapt forward to assist Elijah with the group of nightwalkers that were attempting to surround him. She grabbed a fallen stake from the ground, alternating between desiccating vampires with her light and thrusting the wood into the hearts of others. Klaus watched her move, grinning at the fierceness he saw displayed in her movement along with her own gracefulness. She was a sight to behold, viciously smiting those who opposed them, moving to work in tandem with his sister to deal with another group that had emerged from the building.

Marcel had gone back into the building, no doubt waiting for them to bring the fight to him, and Klaus would. There was no way his old friend would be living another day. None of those who had opposed him would. They needed the witches to come and collect the girl's body first or he knew Caroline would protest, and the last thing Klaus was about to do was leave Caroline outside while he ventured indoors. Harbinger powers or not, he didn't trust the New Orleans group once their powers returned not to try and go after her.

A vampire came at him from behind and Klaus whirled around, easily ripping the boys' throat away before driving a stake through his heart. He'd  _missed_  this, showing others exactly why they should fear him, why trying anything against himself or his family was a horrible life decision. The fear on their faces as they died pleased him, gave him a satisfaction he couldn't find in anything else.

Klaus spotted Caleb and the others emerging from the shadows, varying degrees of disgust on their faces as they took in the carnage that littered the streets. Clean up was going to be a bitch.

"Don't forget what will happen if you betray us," Klaus reminded, stepping aside for them to retrieve Davina's body.

"If we betray  _her_ ," one of them pointed out, glaring at Klaus as he pointed at Caroline. They watched as she flashed her teeth at a nightwalker who was wielding a sword, low growl escaping her before she let her light drive into him, his body falling to the ground in seconds as she drove her other hand into the chest of another, ripping out his heart.

"Are you sure that's not the same thing?" Klaus asked, the smile he directed at them sending terrified shivers down their spine. Did they see now, who she truly was? Little Miss Caroline Forbes had grown up, shed the little girl braids and dresses, and become this strong, fearsome, avenging angel of light.  _His Queen._

Do you see now? his smile asked, and from their reaction Klaus had a feeling that it was finally dawning on them who she had become.

One of the nightwalkers dropped to her knees, stake falling from her hand as she stared up at Caroline, features pleading with her for mercy. "I don't want to die," the young woman whispered, and Caroline froze mid swing, stake an inch from the woman's chest. "I was turned two days ago. I don't even know what's happening."

Did she kill her? She knew that was the plan, that none of Marcel's vampires were going to be allowed to live, but here was this girl, supposedly newly turned and she didn't want to do that. Didn't want to dole out death to those who might not deserve it. Before Caroline could say a word, Rebekah sliced through the woman's neck, taking her head off with the force she'd used when swinging the sword.

"No survivors," Rebekah reminded, and Caroline stared down at the body, nodding her head. "I think we can leave the rest for the wolves now since they're all fleeing anyway." She gestured toward the few nightwalkers that had remained outside flashing out of the alley and away from the Originals.

"Don't forget who you are," Caleb whispered, and Caroline glanced back at her friend, seeing him pick up Davina's body before he and the other witches headed off to tend to the fallen witch.

Klaus stepped into her path and she could no longer watch the others leave. She had a feeling he had done it on purpose, but it didn't matter, there was little point to watching them depart. "Any who survive will only spark a rebellion later on," Klaus told her, hands resting on her shoulders and Caroline looked up at him. But what if they didn't? What if they looked to him in loyalty?

"Let's go. I do believe I owe you a heart."

Caroline looked around at the fallen bodies littered along the street and waited for the regret to set in, but none came and she couldn't help but wonder if that was good or not as she met up with Klaus and his siblings to enter the building.

* * *

Davina woke gasping for breath and her hands immediately flew to her neck, unsure how she was alive or how it wasn't twisted it a weird way. Had they turned her? Was she going to become a vampire? But no, she knew if that were to happen she wouldn't be able to feel her connection to the world around her like she always had growing up. And that connection was still there, even if it did feel a little different.

Her head became a jumbled mess as everything she hadn't known began to flash inside of it, revealing Marcel and the witches' betrayal. Her mouth opened to scream but no sound came out as her body lifted in the air. Hands grabbed her arms and legs, holding her down as best they could as the power that she had acquired through the years began to leave her body.

There was no pain this time unlike when it had surged into her. Instead she felt an overwhelming amount of peace as each layer was torn from her body. Her mind however would not be so lucky. With each piece that left she saw the witch whose death had brought it to her, saw their life end and knew it was because of her visions.

The people holding her down were talking but she couldn't make out a word that they were saying as unconsciousness enveloped her, releasing her from the mental torture that wouldn't end until the last of her extra power was back where it belonged.

* * *

There was no point in running or hiding, Marcel knew that. He knew that Klaus would hunt him down to the ends of the Earth after what he had transpired to do. The steel coffin he had custom made for the Hybrid lay in the room beside Liz Forbes body. Why had he ever listened to Katherine Pierce?

It would have worked though if the girl hadn't been the Harbinger. Nothing would have stopped Davina from overpowering Klaus for the time it would have taken to get him into the damn coffin, spelled the lid closed so he couldn't break out and then left him to a watery grave for eternity. It had been perfect and Marcel would have been able to keep his kingdom. No doubt there would have been retaliation from Rebekah and Elijah, but if they could take down Klaus then the others wouldn't have been hard to dispose of as well.

He needed a bargaining chip and looked at the Sheriff's body, knowing any damage he did to it now would only tighten the noose around his neck. But maybe he could offer up Katherine. After all, shouldn't she pay for her hand in everything that had happened as well?

The doors burst open, crashing to the ground as Klaus, his siblings and the Harbinger strode into the room. Behind them Marcel could see his fallen followers on the hallway floor. No doubt Klaus would kill any who had somehow escaped the battlefield. "Do you know why I took Davina from the witches?" Marcel asked, and Rebekah snorted.

"If you're thinking of distracting us with a pathetic attempt at story time you're wasting your time and ours," she stated, tone entirely too amused as she cocked a brow at him.

"I don't see anything wrong with allowing him a few last words," Klaus replied, gesturing for him to have the floor.

Caroline's gaze was focused on her mother's body and part of her yearned to rush to it, to hold the woman who she had loved so much, but she knew she shouldn't, not yet at least. "I do want to know the answer to that," she murmured, turning her focus to Marcel. "They said the werewolves had been run out of by you at that point and you were getting power hungry so they needed a way to stop you."

Marcel laughed at that, throwing his head back in amusement. "Power hungry? I had a thirst for power, yes, but I already had what I wanted. A kingdom that was mine and we were doing fine. The wolves were gone and the witches and I left each other alone," Marcel informed her, and Caroline frowned. "Until they decided they didn't like ruling this city with  _our_  kind. That's why they were performing the spell. That's why they  _deliberately_  put Marie's spirit into that baby. They didn't expect me to break out of the shackles and escape with her, getting her bound to me in the process." It was Marcel's turn to frown.

"And I don't feel that connection any longer, which means you broke it and her power will be going back to them," Marcel continued, raising his head high as he locked his gaze with Klaus'. "I suggest you watch your backs. It's not just the witches who are involved in all of this."

"Ah, yes, Katerina," Elijah sighed, still reeling from what he had learned from the Lockwood boy about her involvement. "She'll meet her end soon enough." Which pained him to say, but her acts couldn't be forgiven or washed away this time. No matter how he cared for her, Elijah knew he wouldn't be able to save her from Klaus' wrath.

Klaus stepped forward before another word could be said. "Goodbye, Marcellus," he told the vampire, hand thrusting into his chest and gripping his heart.

"Wait," Caroline breathed out, and Klaus shut his eyes for a moment, not wanting to deal with her seconds thoughts. He would not allow this one to live, to plot against them again in another hundred years or so. Marcel needed to be made into an example and she needed to know it.

"Caroline," he started, looking back at her but she shook her head.

"I want to do it," she replied, and Klaus released his grip on the vampire's heart, taking a step back to allow her to move forward. He'd been surprised by her answer, and while he wanted to tear his old protégé's heart from his chest, the idea of Caroline doing it pleased even more.

Caleb's words rang in her head, her mother's as well. She'd killed before to save others that she loved, and maybe part of this was revenge, but it was also breaking a cycle of imbalance that had been plaguing the city of New Orleans for years and that was her duty now. Maybe she was supposed to do it using her powers because that's what Harbingers did and she wondered how many before her had killed as many as she had today. But she didn't want to do it with her powers. She wanted to tear his heart out just as he had done her mother's.

She pressed her hand into the hole Klaus' had left, hand gripping Marcel's heart. "Do you really think Klaus will do any better keeping a balance here?" the vampire asked, and Caroline knew the others were listening, waiting to see what she would do. "He's the evilest of us all."

"Yes," Caroline hissed and ripped out his heart, letting it fall from her hand as soon as it was free from his chest.

She moved past the three Originals, purposefully not looking at them as she headed to her mother's body. She didn't want to see their expressions, afraid of what she might find there. "I need a few minutes," Caroline murmured as she knelt down by the table her mother was laid out on, and leaned forward to rest her head beside her body, gently picking up her mother's hand to hold as she allowed herself a moment to grieve.

She heard the others leave, grateful they didn't comment on any of it because she wasn't sure that she could handle talking about all that had just happened. It was a lot to take in, to fully comprehend that an entire city of vampires had just been wiped from existence...though she knew Klaus and his siblings would create more, restoring the balance to the city. She doubted there would be as many as Marcel had allowed. That many vampires in one setting only bred trouble and no doubt it was harder to determine where true loyalty lay with so many around.

There was movement in the room and Caroline rose, snarling at the newcomer. She stopped once she recognized the young woman from the video. The woman looked around the room and from the way she trembled as she did so, Caroline didn't think she was any kind of threat. Her gaze stopped on Caroline.

"Am I allowed to die now?" Camille asked, glancing back at Marcel's lifeless body. "He said he would kill anyone I've ever known if I tried it before."

"You can, but you don't have to," Caroline replied, watching the other woman. She could tell that Camille hadn't signed up for the vampire life, and no doubt had a lot of questions about it. "It's not so bad being a vampire. There's so much you can learn, you can see and do."

Camille shook her head, adamant in her decision. "No. This isn't the life I want. He didn't give me a choice, forced me to drink blood so I'd transition. Will you give me a choice?" Caroline nodded, knowing she wouldn't take that decision away from anyone if she couldn't force her own father to stay with her as a vampire then she wouldn't do it to anyone else.

Camille picked up a fallen stake and raised it above her chest, unsure exactly what she was supposed to do with it. She'd seen a number of stakes in the bodies in the hallway, but the thought of driving into her own heart terrified her. "Could you?" she asked, holding out the wooden stake to Caroline.

Caroline stared down at it for a long moment, the sincerity in the other woman's voice the only reason she took it from her. Camille closed her eyes, smiling for the first time in days as Caroline plunged the stake into her heart. Caroline watched the woman's body fall to the ground and turned back to her mother, finally allowing herself to cry again.

* * *

"You do realize that her task is done now. She freed Davina, restored the witches powers. Technically she could skip off into the sunset and there's not a thing you could do about it." There was no mirth to Rebekah's voice as she stated any of it, but it was the truth, and she figured it was better to get that out in the open sooner rather than later. She may have come to enjoy having Caroline around some, but there was nothing tying her to the city any longer, and it wouldn't surprise her if the other blonde chose to leave the chaos behind. She desperately wanted to do so, to be able to break free from Klaus and Elijah's orbit and go do her own thing for a while. To have a chance to live without being tied to them.

"Must we discuss this now?" Elijah asked, glancing over at Klaus as they headed toward the exit. He could see the barely contained fury in their brother's stance at what Rebekah was saying and didn't feel like dealing with the fallout of her statements.

"We both know holding her tongue is something our sister has never excelled at," Klaus muttered, throwing the door open with more force than was necessary. The evidence of what had happened was going to need to be disposed of and all Klaus wanted to do was find some humans to compel to drag the bodies inside and burn the lot of them so he could take Caroline and her mother's body and head home.

Unfortunately when they exited the building the dead vampire bodies were not the only thing that greeted them. The elder witches of New Orleans stood in wait, seemingly electric with the power that was now coursing through them. "Seems you forgot to mention that upon release Davina's power wouldn't trickle down to everyone but go directly to you lot," Klaus observed, not at all surprised by that fact. No doubt it had been a failsafe in their sordid little plan.

"You upset the balance of nature," Claire started, and the Originals all tensed, ready to strike as the five women raised their hands in tandem. "We would like to thank you for taking care of Marcel and his brood, but now we must deal with you."

Klaus went to leap forward, but found himself frozen in place, no doubt the workings of whatever spell they were performing. "Rumor has it that if you kill an Original that their entire vampire line dies as well," one of the others stated, and Klaus snarled at that, wondering how they had come across that information. No doubt it was that hateful doppelganger Katherine. He really did need to kill her.

"And you don't have the means to do that," Rebekah spat, struggling in her place.

"Marcel may have failed to banish you to the sea, but we're more than ready to do so to all three of you." Steel coffins flew through the air, landing on the ground behind each Original, the lid flying open and the women each shoved a hand through the air, sending the siblings back into the coffins.

"I think you ladies may want to rethink this idea," Elijah started, whatever he was about to say cut off as the lid was slammed shut on him. Chains wrapping around it on their own, sealing him in with a magical curse.

" _Nik_ ," Rebekah shouted, not wanting to go through this again. Not another coffin. She would rip their throats out for this.

Caroline burst through the door as the lid slammed onto Rebekah's coffin and she looked around, trying to understand what was happening. " _No!_ " she screamed as it dawned on her what the witches were doing. She lashed out with her light at the witches, but they held up a hand, and the light bounced off an invisible field she couldn't see.

"You can't do this," Caroline protested, sending another burst toward them.

"As the Harbinger you should want balance," Claire told her, shaking her head in disgust and the witches once again blocked the light. "Vampires existence doesn't promote balance. It destroys it and we will destroy any trace of vampire that attempts to step foot in this city ever again."

"That's not balance," Caroline cried. Clearly these ones had lost their minds. "That's your bias showing. Vampires, werewolves,  _and_  witches need to reside in this city for balance. You forcing one of them out is what destroys it. It's what got you into this mess in the first place. Marcel never would have gained a means to controlling any of you if you hadn't wanted to destroy him in the first place."

"I didn't expect you to understand," Claire sighed, and the smile she directed at her creeped Caroline out. She didn't have a good feeling about it at all. "Not when you care for  _him._ "

"If you dare to touch her," Klaus bellowed from inside the coffin, struggling against the invisible bonds that kept him from escaping.

"You can join him for eternity," Claire continued, and the witches pressed their hands through the air again in tandem, the movement shoving Caroline back into the coffin with Klaus as the lid shut on top.

Wait. Was he  _smiling_? Why the hell was he smiling?

Whatever magic had been holding Klaus in place stopped the minute the lid closed. Caroline pressed against the wall, trying to make it open back up. It wouldn't budge though, and the clanking of steel against steel, meant they witches were tightening the steel chains around it. Caroline stopped pushing, trying to come up with another means to escape. All she could think was that they should have killed them when Klaus had first suggested it.

Klaus wrapped an arm around her, holding her close as his lips brushed against her forehead. "Patience," he whispered, and she looked up at him, wondering if he too had lost his mind. Patience for  _what_  exactly? "Your witches did swear allegiance and while breaking it does come with a fiery end, it also links them to you. They'll know you're distressed."

"And you're waiting until now to let me know this?" Caroline demanded, hitting him in the chest.

"They'll have to break the spell the others did on these coffins and release us all," Klaus continued, smiling down at her. "They can't leave you to repeatedly drown in the ocean, no matter how much they might love to do so to me and my siblings."

"You wanted me in this damn coffin," she growled, glaring at him in the darkness.

"Do you honestly think they'd release me and my siblings if you weren't?" Klaus asked, staring down at her.

"I would have made them," Caroline whispered, though she wasn't certain she would have been able to pull that off. Her Coven didn't exactly like them. They especially didn't like Klaus. Maybe they would have left them to desiccate inside. He snorted at her answer and she growled again, but leaned into him, wondering how long it would take for them to be freed.

The lid fell off a second later and Caroline stepped out into the night, Klaus on her heels. The other two lids fell forward as well, Elijah and Rebekah flashing out of their coffins. Caroline turned to where the witches had been and in their place stood Caleb and the rest of her Coven, the New Orleans elders laying on the ground before them. She couldn't sense the other witches' heartbeats.

"Are you alright?" Caleb asked, stepping over Claire's body as he headed toward her, his concern clearly evident.

"I'm fine," Caroline assured, raking a hand through her hair. "What about Davina?"

Caleb looked down and Caroline knew that whatever had happened that she wouldn't like the answer. "Physically she's fine," Cecile informed her, walking forward as well while the rest of the witches looked around, alert for any more danger. "Mentally...I don't think she'll ever recover. We took her back to the cemetery and when we noticed that none of the witches there seemed to be gaining any level of power we knew something was wrong."

"And then we felt your torment and couldn't find any of the elders," Caleb muttered, glaring back at Claire's body. "It wasn't too hard to figure out what they were wanting to do."

"This has been delightful," Klaus started, stepping forward with his hands clasped behind his back. "Elijah, I know you delight in cleaning up messes so you're in charge of this one." He waved a finger in the air, gesturing to the bodies on the street. "Rebekah, after Caleb and the others retrieve Sheriff Forbes' body do your worst to the building."

Rebekah perked up at the task and Caroline remembered the other girl's love of fire, no doubt it would be used to burn any evidence of what had occurred inside. Caleb clasped a hand on Caroline's shoulder. "I'll make sure she's treated with respect," he promised, and she nodded, grateful for that as she watched him and the others in her Coven walk into the building to retrieve the body.

"I'm going to go get the necessities," Rebekah sighed in glee before flashing off as well. Caroline didn't even want to think about what the necessities were for arson.

"Which leaves us with dealing with the rest of the witches and learning how the wolves faired," Klaus continued, looking over at Caroline.

"They're your wolves so you deal with them and I'll handle the witches," Caroline suggested, even though she knew it wouldn't fly.

"I believe you promised you'd have me accompany you wherever you go," Klaus reminded, leaning forward, his fingers toying with a lock of her hair. "Something about wanting to show me how compromises work. Wouldn't want to go back on that now."

Caroline batted his hand away. "Fine," she told him, unable to help herself as she rolled her eyes. "But I get to do the talking this time."

"Of course," Klaus murmured, and from his smile Caroline could tell he didn't mean that. "And then we'll find Katerina and would you like to pull her heart as well or may I have the pleasure of that one?" Caroline swallowed at that, remembering how it had felt to hold Marcel's heart in her hand for that brief moment, to know she had caused his death. She turned away from him, unsure how she wanted to answer, but that didn't seem to deter him.

Klaus was in her personal space again, arm wrapping around her waist and drawing her back against his body. He drew her hair out of the way, lips brushing against the shell of her ear. "You enjoyed it, ripping his heart out for what he did."

"He had to die to restore the balance," Caroline replied, trying not to shudder at the intense desire that shot through her because of their proximity to one another.

"Doesn't mean you didn't enjoy it," Klaus pressed his lips to her throat, fangs dragging dangerously along her skin but never puncturing it.

She desperately wanted to turn around and push him up against the closest wall, to give in and find release from the need that had been steadily building in her since she'd seen him in the moonlight with blood streaking his Hybrid face, but there were things that needed to get done, her  _mother's_   _dead body_  was laying inside the building and there were dead witches and vampires scattered all around them. Now was not the time to indulge in hot vampire-hybrid anything.

"We need to talk to the witches," Caroline stated, tearing out of his grasp and turned around to see him. She knew her own craving was reflected in his eyes as he stared back at her.

Klaus cocked his head, extending a hand in the direction of the cemetery. "There's only so long you can deny what you really want, Caroline," he told her as the two started heading in that direction.

She didn't reply, even though she knew he was right in his assessment and especially because it was becoming harder to deny what she wanted.


	21. Chapter 21

_You know whether we can do anything_  
_I know that you can do everything_  
_You said that we should try many things  
_ _Let's make an hour so we can do everything_

* * *

It was as if every witch who had been hiding out in the cemetery was now out of the shadows and waiting for them when Klaus and Caroline arrived. They stopped at the threshold, Klaus being unable to pass over it without an invite and while Caroline still was able because of her Harbinger status, she chose to remain at his side for now. The elders of the group were all gone, dead either by Marcel's hand or Covens, but there were plenty of witches left-from children to older adults-and Caroline could almost hear the wheels turning in Klaus' head for how to deal with them.

The light from a few street lamps shone down on the two of them and Caroline was certain the blood that streaked their clothes and skin must have made them look even more frightening than usual. But none of the witches stepped back or made any movement at their appearance, no doubt because they rightfully assumed it was from Marcel's vampires and hadn't those deaths been something they all desperately wanted to have happened?

"Where's Claire and the rest of them?" asked one woman, stepping forward from the others but not crossing the boundary.

"They're dead," Caroline started, and hushed whispers started among the others and she could only imagine what was going through their heads.

"As happens when someone works to betray me and mine," Klaus interrupted, and Caroline inwardly groaned. Hadn't they agreed that she would be doing the talking? She was pretty sure she had been adamant that she be the one to talk to the witches for this  _exact_ reason!

"Now, the way I see it, you lot can attempt your own little coup d'état against me, resulting in me slaughtering your children." His gaze lingered on a few of the younger generation that were quickly pulled out of sight and while he could feel Caroline's annoyance with him, Klaus continued. "Then expelling those of you who remain from this city, cutting you off from the source of your power, and delighting in watching you run in fear until your dying breath.  _Or_ -"

" _Or,_ " Caroline interrupted, glaring at him and his cocky arrogance. Which  _okay_  maybe he had earned it being pretty much one of the most powerful creatures in the world, but  _seriously_? This was not how to go about doing this. "You go home. You live your lives. You practice the magic you want and as long as you're not interfering with the balance or plotting to kill any of the Mikaelson family you won't be bothered with."

"And we're just supposed to what?" the original woman asked, staring at her in disbelief. "Take your word for that?"

Caroline stepped over the threshold, leaving Klaus behind. From his low growl she knew he wasn't pleased that she had done so, but she needed to do this part on her own. "Technically I have enough power that I could kill each and every one of you here and now," Caroline reminded, letting her hand glow. "It's no secret that most of you don't like vampires. That you'd probably rather we were wiped off the face of this earth, but doing that would upset everything and I think you're wise enough to know that." She let the light die out. "Rebekah and I went in to save you when we could have left you all to Marcel's mercies. One of my best friends was a witch. I have another who is still one. I don't have anything against any of you. I helped get your damn powers back when it'd have been simple enough to cut you off from them for good."

The witches were looking around at one another, seeming to take in her words. It was true; if she had wanted them to be powerless it would have happened. If Caroline hadn't used her powers to bring Davina back then none of their powers would ever have been restored and eventually their power levels would probably have died off. But Caroline had remembered how lost Bonnie had felt when the ghosts of her ancestors and other dead witches had cut her off and she didn't' want to wish that on anyone.

"So it's up to you how you want to do this." She shrugged. "I'm of the opinion where you go back to your lives, practice your magic and do whatever the hell you want as long as you're not plotting death to all vampires, but that's just me." Caroline motioned toward the actual city, outside the cemetery walls. "Go home and live."

"Such a hard decision," Klaus mocked, and Caroline clenched her fists at her side. He was really trying her patience and she had a feeling he was doing it on purpose because she had stepped over the threshold without him. "Engage in another war and lose all you hold dear or go about living your lives and don't plot against my family."

"And if a vampire attacks us?" asked a voice from in the crowd, but she couldn't determine who it had come from.

"Then defend yourself and do what you need to survive because I sure as hell would," Caroline replied, knowing that before if they had done so they would have been met with a death sentence.

"And we won't be retaliated against?" came another.

"Not unless you suddenly go on a vampire killing spree," Klaus piped up from behind the border. "One death here or there is common enough on either side, but if I find that anyone is purposefully seeking out vampires to slaughter then my earlier punishment remains the same for that trouble maker. I've always found slaughtering the young gets points across rather quickly."

Caroline took in a long unneeded breath, wanting to throttle him, but it was his kingdom now and it was better if they knew the consequences outright. There was still tension among the group, but Caroline could make out some of the whispers when she focused and the majority seemed ready to do what she had said. Most of them wanted to go home and live their lives, not be embroiled in whatever schemes a small majority would most likely attempt in the future. And when that happened those individuals would be dealt with accordingly.

"He could decide to slaughter all of us on a whim," a man began, stepping away from the group and pointing at Klaus. "We've all heard the stories. We know exactly what kind of monster he is. What's to stop him from killing any of us because he desires it?"

Silence fell over the group and she knew this was a pivotal question, one that had all of them scared for their lives. She couldn't blame them either, not after all they had heard or even witnessed firsthand in the last few weeks. But Caroline thought she knew of something that would stop Klaus from needlessly murdering anyone for sport as they were so ready to believe-and she'd heard the stories from Stefan after his humanity was back on about his time away with Klaus. The Hybrid was capable of nearly anything...but he did seem to listen to her, to value her opinion so maybe...

" _Me_. I'll stop him from doing so," Caroline replied, and she turned around without waiting for an answer, looking Klaus square in the eye. She'd expected anger, maybe annoyance at all she had said, especially at the fact that she'd told the witches she'd stop him from needlessly killing them. He wasn't supposed to be smiling victoriously at her and her confusion must have shown on her face.

"Then I suppose you'll need to be sticking around to ensure that I don't," Klaus told her, low enough so only she could hear and she swallowed at that, knowing he was right and  _oh god_ what had she just signed herself up for.

"Let's just go see your wolves," Caroline told him, not wanting to go into that conversation. Not there in front of the witches and not when they still had so much to do, but she knew that they were going to need to have it soon because the time for denial had certainly ended.

She turned on her heel to head toward where the wolves were supposed to be gathering, but stopped, looking back at the witches. "Where's Davina?" she called out, and the original woman walked toward her as the others began to leave the cemetery, all casting Klaus wary glances.

"The members of your Coven who didn't go with Cecile took her back to your house to see if they could heal her mind," she told her and the girl that Rebekah and her had saved stepped forward, taking the woman's hand. "Thank you for saving my daughter that night."

Caroline nodded, offering the still frightened child a small smile before the two disappeared into the night with the rest. "You know that there will be some who attempt a coup and that I will have to kill and make an example out of them." Klaus leaned in, looking her directly in the eyes then. She couldn't look away, even as he kept talking, telling her all the horrible things he would do to those who dared make a move against him.

"And nothing you say will save them from my wrath when that occurs, Caroline." Klaus informed her, and he took a step back, his hand outstretched for her to take.

She stared at it for a long moment before looking at him. "That's the thing, Klaus, in that case, I wouldn't even try to stop you," Caroline took hold of his hand and broke eye contact, looking off at the few witches still heading out into the night before the two started in the direction the wolves should be waiting. "I'd help."

Caroline didn't even need to glance over to know that the damn triumphant smile was back on Klaus' face.

* * *

Tyler stared out at the window, not really looking at anything particular. His focus was too involved with the thoughts running through his head, the worry over what Katherine Pierce was managing to do. He'd known she was crazy, but after telling Elijah about what all he and Hayley had learned from her-bar the baby's father because he figured Hayley needed all the help she could get still-Tyler had seen the apprehension on the Original's face. He knew for certain then that Katherine Pierce would do anything in her power to destroy Klaus and not care who got hurt in the crossfire. He worried what that meant for Caroline. They might have broken up, but he still cared about her, still wanted her to be safe. Happy.

There was a loud crash upstairs, followed by a yelp from Hayley and he sprang into action, wondering how anyone could have gotten inside the house again. Were they trying to hurt her? Abduct her? So many scenarios ran through his head as he headed toward where he'd heard her cry. He followed the sound of her heartbeat mingled with the baby's and found her leaning against the wall, breathing hard.

The tray of food she'd been carrying was at her feet and Tyler figured it must have been the crash he'd heard. "What's wrong?" he asked, wondering if the baby was in distress.

"I don't feel it any longer," Hayley whispered, staring down at her hands before looking up at him.

"Don't feel what?" Tyler asked, wondering what she was muttering about. It couldn't be the baby, it sounded fine to him.

"Ever since I was abducted in the bayou and the witches placed that spell on me, keeping me locked up here in New Orleans I've felt this...I don't know. Pressure? Something like that," Hayley shrugged, unsure how to describe it to him. "But it's gone now. It just left." She looked around for a moment, trying to make sense of her thoughts. "I don't think I'm bound to here anymore."

She took a step back, holding up a hand as she warily watched him. "Don't you dare try to stop me from leaving."

Her hand touched her stomach then, trying to garner some sympathy for herself through the baby. "He'll kill me and this kid as soon as he finds out. But if I'm gone, if I can disappear far enough away, maybe he won't even bother with me."

Klaus didn't care about the kid anyway. It was just Elijah who did and maybe she could leave a note explaining the rest of Katherine's scheme about the baby so he wouldn't come for it. She could see the indecision on Tyler's face, the internal war of whether or not she should get the chance to run free considering the hand she had played in everything. "I know I did horrible things, Tyler, but does my child deserve to suffer for them?" Hayley continued, pleading with him.

"Just get out," Tyler growled, glaring at her. He knew he was being manipulated, but she was right. He wouldn't condemn the kid, but he wouldn't play a part in this either.

"You could come with me," Hayley called out as he walked away and Tyler stopped, unable to believe she had even suggested that.

"You don't want me around, Hayley," he told her, his voice low and dangerous. "Because as soon as that kid was out of you, I would make you pay for all you've done."

Hayley didn't bother to continue watching him, she turned and headed to gather as many things as she could take with her, anything that looked valuable enough to sell for the money she'd most certainly be needing once she got the hell out of New Orleans and as far away from the Original family as possible.

* * *

"Why are we heading into the wildlife refuge?" Caroline couldn't help but read the sign they were passing. Bayou Sauvage: National Wildlife Refuge. She hadn't even known that there was a place like this within the city limits of New Orleans.

"To speak with the wolves," Klaus reminded, and Caroline wondered why they were meeting outside in the wilderness instead of inside. Wouldn't the werewolves have wanted to head home and shower after everything? She knew she really wouldn't have minded a hot shower right about then to get all of the blood off her body and remove her stained dress.

"Wait." Caroline stopped walking, causing Klaus to pause as well. "Are they in their  _wolf form_?" Except...the full moon wasn't until tomorrow night. How could that even be possible? Werewolves only turned on the full moon. Though it'd explain how exactly their bites would've been able to harm the vampires.

"You're not the only one with your own witches, love," Klaus informed her, the grin on his face making her want to punch him. Or maybe kiss him. It seemed to be a toss-up these last few days on which way her body would react. "I've had her on standby for a while now in case I needed the little boost. Can't exactly plan everything around the moon." He did a little finger wave, glancing up at the nearly full moon in the sky. "It likes to stick to its own timetable."

"So your witch could force a werewolf transformation?" Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. "You have been holding out on me." Information wise at least. Not that she had even thought of that part so maybe it wasn't exactly holding out. "Maybe you should have gone on this one alone because werewolves kinda go all bitey when a vampire is in attendance."

"They won't lay a paw on you, Caroline," Klaus promised, his grip on her hand tightening. The intensity of his gaze, only strengthening her belief in what he had just promised, seamlessly shifted, his lips curving suggestively as he peered down at her. "Not that I'd say no to a little blood sharing. Quite an intimate gesture between vampires and I do believe you've had mine twice now."

Caroline tugged her hand free from his at that, purposefully rolling her eyes so he couldn't see the blatant thirst in her eyes. She started walking forward when she realized she licked her lips in anticipation, fangs already out and she  _knew_  he'd seen it, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how easily he could get to her. Or think about the fact that she didn't exactly want to keep holding back, but there was still so much that needed to get done and Caroline would try and stifle the overwhelming arousal that seemed to twist in and around her since seeing him streaked with blood in the moonlit sky.

"Yours was rather divine. I do wish it'd been under more  _pleasurable_  circumstances," Klaus continued, following after her as she stepped onto the wooden boardwalk.

"Keep on dreaming," Caroline told him, pleased her voice sounded steady to her own ears.

"I doubt I'll need to sequester such thoughts to my dreams for too much longer," Klaus told her, amused when she scoffed at him. Did she forget he could smell her desire? Could hear it when she tried to stifle a gasp as he came to walk next to her, hand sliding to rest on the small of her back. How he could see it in the way her pupils dilated, the telltale fangs that she was trying to get to ascend again, but didn't seem to want to cooperate? All of those combined were riling up the wolf in him, demanding for him to take claim to this woman who evoked so many emotions from him, ones he had tried hard to cast off for a thousand years and yet now seemed to crave by merely being in her presence.

He wanted to stop her, push her down onto the wooden bench a few feet in front of them, and take exactly what he knew she was trying so hard to hold off giving him. To show her a taste of what he could offer her, what one thousand plus years of living had taught him in the art of pleasure. Her entire body seemed to be screaming for him to do so, but that mind of hers-sometimes Klaus despised how neatly it tried to rationalize away her feelings for him, how it caused her to push down her own appetite-it was a barrier he was still chipping away at, waiting for it to crumble and allow Caroline to truly give into what she wanted, to take from him what he knew she rightfully deserved.

Klaus let his hand drift lower, smirking as that elicited another gasp, but he could make out the pack in the distance, and Irene standing close by. Thankfully the pack seemed to have already changed back into their human forms, and while there was no doubt in his mind that they wouldn't purposefully attack Caroline since they knew her position to him, he didn't want to take the chance if it wasn't needed. If he was going to be sharing blood with Caroline later in the evening he'd rather it not be in order to save her life.

"And how many did you feast upon tonight?" Klaus asked, grinning as the pack noticed their presence, enjoying the bowing of heads that came naturally to them.

This was nothing like the forced loyalty of his Hybrids, nor was it like the wavering loyalty he seemed to receive from him siblings. They looked at him with respect, treated him with it as well, but there was no fear in their eyes and Klaus was realizing that meant he didn't question their loyalty, didn't wait for the whispers to begin among them or for a plot to overthrow him to start. Maybe that would change with time, his paranoia always did seem to get the best of him, but for now he quite enjoyed the feeling.

"More than thirty," one of the pack stated, stepping forward and Caroline had an idea that this was Cristiano, the one Klaus had appointed to be his pack liaison. She hadn't met him yet, wondered if he even knew who she was- _and who are you, Caroline Forbes?_  Was Klaus' constant statements about her being his Queen getting to her head?

The wolf bowed his head to her as well, no distaste in his eyes like she was used to seeing when wolves looked at her. "I can say that any that ran from the building were at least bitten if not worse."

"Fantastic," Klaus clapped his hands together, smile growing. "Then Marcel and his lot will be wiped clean from New Orleans in a matter of days." Probably by the morning if the hallucinations brought the bitten vampires out into the sunlight. "And any threat to  _our_  pack gone with them." He made sure to emphasize the our, knowing Caroline would like the use of it, even if he did see them as  _his_  pack-subordinate to  _him_ and nowhere near his equal. "There will be no more hiding in the bayou, helplessly drifting from place to place for any of you."

"What about all of you? Was anyone injured?" Caroline asked, knowing the vampires wouldn't have taken the attack without fighting back. Especially with their lives on the line and she'd heard about Klaus' biting of one of Marcel's inner circle when he'd first arrived so any vampire who had been around since then would know that werewolf bites were lethal. After all, it hadn't exactly been common knowledge back in Mystic Falls at first, but after seeing (or in Caroline's case experiencing first hand) a werewolf bite, there was no doubt how deadly it could be.

"A few of the younger pups got some nasty bites before they dealt with their vampire," Cristiano told her, nodding toward the back where the witch knelt, and Caroline could make out a woman tending to the wounded. "One dead though. Jerry. Saved a couple of the others from dying."

Jerry.

She knew that name.

Caroline frowned, trying to remember why it was familiar as Klaus surveyed the group, mentally making calculations on what damage they had been able to do and how best next to proceed while continuing to discuss matters with Cristiano. It didn't take Caroline long to remember when she had met Jerry and why his name was so significant to her.

"His mate is-was-Tabatha, right?" Caroline asked, remembering speaking to the couple in an apartment not too long ago, unable to forget how their trepidation had turned to joy over having a baby once they knew Klaus wouldn't object. "The one who is pregnant?"

Cristiano paused, looking over at her, and she could see that he was startled that she had remembered that fact. "Yes, her sister was one of the ones Jerry saved," he informed her, pleasantly surprised.

"Let her know our condolences and if she needs anything to please let me know," Caroline replied, already making a mental list of some of the things the pregnant woman might need. Especially a grieving one. "I want to see her tomorrow." Wait. Maybe that would be too soon? "Or maybe in a few days, whichever would be best for her."

"I think she would appreciate that," Cristiano offered a small smile, but Caroline barely took notice of it, walking away from Klaus and him to better check how those who had been injured were faring.

Klaus watched her go, wondering if she even knew the role she was so easily stepping into. Did she notice how the wolves were watching her, the reverence in their gaze, the way they continued to bow to her as she passed by? He continued talking to Cristiano for several more minutes, watching Caroline talk to the other wolves, pleased with how they seemed to defer to her presence. She exhibited no fear around them, bending down to talk to those who were unable to stand, and there was no aggression toward her. Something he would have quickly handled if he even remotely sensed the possibility.

"I'll want a full report later on, but get everyone home. I'll contact you in a few days," Klaus told Cristiano before turning his attention back to the group. "Bury the dead, tend to the injured, and _celebrate_  this victory. We've earned it."

There was no applause, no joyful outburst at the notion, but there was a notable shift in the atmosphere that let him know they were pleased with the idea. This meant they shouldn't cause any trouble as he secured the last few pieces into place and that was all Klaus had needed to know.

The witch was finishing up administering the last bit of ointment to one of the injured wolves, the others already beginning to leave the bayou and head toward their homes. Klaus clasped his hands behind his back as he made his way over to where Caroline and she stood. The remaining wolf stood up, bowing his head to both Caroline and Klaus before hurrying after the others.

"Hello, Irene," he greeted, flashing the witch a smile that she shook her head at, gathering her supplies. "Good to see you weren't lying about your capabilities." Not that he figured she would have done so. Failure meant death and he knew that this particular witch didn't have a death wish.

"You have the rest of my payment?" Irene asked, eying him carefully, and he knew she must have been wary that he would go back on his word, rip her heart out in return. And while the idea was tempting, he preferred having her around, knowing she was useful to him and he had more than enough ways to keep her loyal.

Klaus pulled out the ripped page from his mother's grimoire and held it out to her. "Pleasure doing business with you."

She carefully took it from him, pursing her lips at the smeared blood, though considering the current state of him and the baby vampire who had accompanied him she wasn't too surprised by the condition. Though she was curious as to why he was associating with the bottom of the vampire Totem Pole. The girl couldn't be more than two years, though she looked at Caroline again, sensing something off about her, not quite vampire in all those layers. Something  _more._

To say Irene was surprised at what she senses was an understatement.

"The new Harbinger," she murmured, brows arching in genuine surprise that not only was the girl with Klaus but that she also had her heart still intact. And from the respect the wolves had given this vampire she had a feeling Klaus wouldn't be removing it any time soon.

"I prefer Caroline, but yes," Caroline replied, uncertain if she should smile, shake hands? What was the correct protocol? She settled for nodding to the witch and wondering how she and Klaus had met.

"I thought you wanted the Harbinger dead?" Irene asked, glancing over at Klaus again. "In fact you often stated how you were going to delight in spilling the entrails of Valencia's entire lineage for years to come. Wetting the world with their blood."

"Only entrails he wants now are my aunts," Caroline muttered, glaring over at Klaus who purposefully didn't look at her for that comment. They both knew it was true, that he did want her relatives dead to ensure her continued survival. Even if chances were that if she did eventually give up her powers the fact that she was a vampire meant that she might not die...it was something he would rather avoid.

"I have another task for you," Klaus stated, wanting the current part of the discussion put aside for the moment. It wasn't something that they would ever agree upon and he saw no reason for it to be brought up considering everything else they had succeeded with for the day. "I need someone tracked and found as soon as possible. No doubt she has her own witches working to cloud her from detection and knows how to hide all too well after running from me for more years than I care to count." But the time for the delightful cat and mouse game was over and he meant to devour her whole.

"Katerina Petrova," Irene murmured, knowing that was who he spoke of. There was no one else she could think of who he had allowed that tortured existence for so long. "It may take me some time, especially if she's got others blocking her."

"I don't know if it matters or not," Caroline started, remembering what Elena had told her at the start of the summer. How could she have forgotten to say anything about this part until now? "She's human now. Cure was kinda shoved down her throat at the end of May."

She tried to act nonchalant about all she had revealed, shrugging her shoulders and avoiding eye contact with Klaus. " _Human_?" came a chorus of voices, and Caroline shrugged again.

"I forgot! Kinda was busy with the whole being a Harbinger thing now!" Caroline crossed her arms, daring Klaus to make a scene about it. "If I had known how big a hand she was gonna have in everything I'd have outed her on that a  _long_  time ago."

"That might actually make it easier. Her aura might have a special signature on account she's a vampire who became human again," Irene mused, and Klaus pressed his lips together, staring at Caroline. There was going to need to be a lengthy discussion later on what else she had forgotten to tell him.

"I believe we're finished here," Klaus stated, holding out his arm for Caroline again. There was no hesitation as she took it this time, linking her arm with his. "I'll be expecting news soon."

"Give me a day and I'll let you know what I find," the witch told him, watching the two walk off, a thousand questions running through her mind about what Klaus Mikaelson was doing with this new Harbinger. But there were some things better left forgotten, especially since Irene valued her life more than her curiosity.

* * *

"Bloody hell, where have you two been?" Rebekah demanded as soon as Klaus and Caroline entered the house. Beneath her annoyance there seemed to be genuine concern, though not for the two of them, but for whatever commotion was happening further inside the house. "It  _seems_  your Coven has taken it upon themselves to gather up a few of the bitten vampires and bring them here."

"What?" Klaus demanded, furious that not only had the witches interfered with vampire business but also that they had brought them to his home. "Why didn't you kill them on the spot?." He heard Caroline's sharp intake of breath at that, no doubt ready to defend her Coven, and frustratedly amended his question. "Why did you not kill the vampires on the spot?"

"They won't let anyone but the two of you into that damn room," Rebekah informed him, crossing her arms and holding her head up high, daring him to try and make her feel bad. "They breezed right on in and were in that room before I even knew what was happening." She nodded toward the door. "It's spelled if you haven't already guessed. They want to talk to you and I'd like to finally get a shower and change my clothes. Get a bite to eat. You deal with them."

She turned on her heel before Klaus and Caroline could comment, and while Klaus' irritation only seemed to grow at that, Caroline couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. "Your Coven needs to learn its place," Klaus bit out, heading straight for the door.

"And what might that be exactly?" Caroline demanded, not liking at all what that implied. "Like I need to learn  _my place_?"

Klaus whirled around at that, upon her in moments. His face alarmingly close to her own, the yellow of his Hybrid nature shining through in his eyes. "Oh, you do need to learn it," he told her, his nearness causing her to step back which only made him follow, steps meeting his in a dance that reminded her all too much of a wolf stalking his prey. "But not in the way your tone is implying."

Caroline stopped moving, refusing to give up more ground as she stared back at him, silence daring him to continue his train of thought. " _Your_   _place_  is at  _my side_ , as  _my Queen,_ " he began and Caroline shook her head, peeling his hands off of her arms.

"Do you even know what that means? Do you even realize what that would entail? To be at your side? Not beneath you, not cowering or being subordinate or silently accepting your orders. But your  _equal_ , someone you discuss matters with, who you put trust in, who would put trust in you. You know,  _compromising,_ " Caroline replied, ready to fight him on this matter, but was thrown off her speech as the anger in his expression altered to amusement. " _What?"_

Seriously, if he was laughing at her she was going to punch him.

"Such as allowing the pregnant wolf and her mate to keep their child and move into a more family friendly environment? Allowing you to speak to the witches even if all I wished to do was yank you the hell back over that barrier? Or simply this, right here, right now, and every other conversation we've had since I've nearly bloody well known you," Klaus pointed out, nose nearly brushing her own with how close he was standing to her. "I don't want you cowering to me. One of the first things that ever drew me to you was the fact you never did that, even when you were laying on your deathbed you were honest with me, told me exactly how little you thought of me."

His hands slid to her hips, rocking her toward him as he shifted, lips brushing against her ear. "I'd like to think we were past that now though," he murmured, teeth nipping her ear. "And while there are certain circumstances where I think we would both greatly enjoy you being beneath me, just  _not_  in the way your words were implying."

Caroline couldn't hold back her moan, hands gripping his shirt as her eyes drifted shut. It took all of her self-control to push him back then, needing to put distance between the two of them again. "We need to find out what my Coven wants," she reminded, flushing at the fact such a simple movement from him could cause her body to react so quickly.

"Once that's dealt with, I think you'll find you're all out of reasons for running away from this," Klaus stated, and the way he looked her body over made Caroline want to forget about the witches, to shove him right up against the wall and finally take what she had been wanting, what she _craved_  from Klaus, but she refused to give up that last bit of control for the moment, needing it to help steady herself.

She walked past him, brushing her hair off her shoulder as she tried to ignore the need he incited from deep within her body, lighting every nerve ending on fire simply by being nearby. "You smell divine," Klaus murmured as she passed, sending a shiver down her spine and she  _knew_  then that he could smell her arousal and that he was correct in his assessment. After this conversation with the witches was over she was out of reasons to stop pushing him away.

The door opened of its own accord as soon as she neared it, closing behind the two of them once they were inside. Caroline could feel Klaus tense at the motion, his instincts easily sliding him into being alert, trying to assess what damage he could do before the five witches could subdue him. Caroline placed a hand on his arm, trying to alleviate some of his tension. The simple act showed an allegiance to him in front of the others and Klaus wondered if she realized that much yet.

She turned her attention to the witches and the handful of vampires who were sitting down, their backs against the wall, hallucinations already having started. "What's going on?" Caroline asked, looking over at Cecile. She wasn't surprised that Caleb wasn't also in attendance this time, having a feeling that this wasn't something his grandmother wanted him to be part of in case it didn't turn out well for them.

"I would love to know why you brought them here instead of killing them on sight," Klaus demanded, the time for niceties long gone. "I'd have thought that you'd enjoy killing a vampire or two after everything."

"We killed a number that we ran into after some...interrogation," Cecile informed him, and from the way the old woman said the word, Caroline figured it hadn't been a pleasant experience for the vampires. "But these ones told us something we found rather interesting."

Klaus waved a hand for her to continue, wishing the hyperbole could be forgone and they could get to the heart of the matter. "They were turned only hours ago. Right before the battle happened," Cecile continued, walking over to each of the four vampires. "Tourists from out of state who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, no loyalty at all to Marcel. Turned against their will and forced into a transition they knew nothing about. They ran as soon as they were able."

"Your point?" Klaus demanded, already finished with the conversation. How long they had been vampires mattered little to him. Nor did the circumstances behind their transition. He had ruled them all dead and that was what would happen.

"Are you certain that's the truth? That none of them are lying to you?" Caroline asked, staring down at the four, remembering how alone and scared she had been upon waking from her own death. The overwhelming hunger, the confusion that had enveloped her, tried to consume her.

"Yes," Cecile stated, motioning to the women and men. "Do they deserve the same fate as the others?

Klaus knew in that moment that this was a test, and not just on Caroline to see what she would choose, but on him as well. There was one cure for a werewolf bite and he held it in his veins. The witches wanted to see exactly what kind of hold Caroline had over him and refusing to go along with it if Caroline wanted the cure would only force a wedge between them. His gaze locked on Cecile's, the defiance in her eyes letting him know this has been her idea.

He would not bend for these witches, would not let them force his hand by using Caroline and his feelings for her against him. They did not get to exploit her, his one true weakness. He would not allow it.

Caroline stared at Cecile, watching the silent back and forth between her and Klaus. She figured out the unspoken plan as well, annoyed at being played in such a way. "Well?" Cecile asked, barely able to contain her own smirk.

"If you  _think_  you can come into  _my home,_ " Klaus yelled, voice dangerously low but whatever he was going to say was forgotten as he noticed Caroline moving toward the hallucinating vampires. What the hell was she doing?

She bent over, letting dark energy flow from her into each of them. "There," she murmured as she stood up, wiping her hands on her blood spattered dress. "They'll die, a reminder of what exactly will happen if they're even slightly involved in any sort of betrayal ever again, but they'll come back, good as new."

And slightly sired to her as well, but that was better than playing into the witch's hands, wasn't it? A loophole. Maybe not the best she'd ever come up with, but one that didn't allow Klaus or her to be blatantly exploited and still managed to save the vampires. Maybe Klaus wouldn't like it, he might even be furious with her for doing it, but the last thing she wanted was more bloodshed to happen. Caroline knew that she was going to need to figure out what to do about her own Coven now. They wielded a lot of power and she knew that kind of advantage could be a very dangerous thing if allowed to grow out of hand.

Caroline turned her attention back to Cecile, smiling sweetly at the older woman, but her gaze was full of animosity. How  _dare_  they think they could use her in such a way. "I think it's time for you all to leave."

Cecile nodded her head, arching an appreciative brow at Caroline-which only increased Caroline's annoyance-before leading the others out of the room. The stifling magic that kept others out dissipated as soon as they crossed the threshold. Elijah entered as they left and Klaus smiled at his brother, thankful to have someone to hand off the new charges to. "Impeccable timing as always," Klaus greeted, extending a hand toward the dying vampires. "Lock these ones in the cellar. We'll decide what to do with them later."

Caroline nodded in greeting to Elijah, not quite trusting her own voice as she slipped past him and out into the hall. "I have Irene looking for Katherine," Klaus continued, before stepping around Elijah to follow after her. She had betrayed her own witches, sided with him in this manner while still keeping true to herself, and he meant to make her know exactly how much that delighted him.

His Queen. Look at him allowing her to make decisions on her own again. Did she see that now?

He barely had time close the door behind him before Caroline had him pressed up against the nearest wall. She didn't hesitate, tongue demanding entrance as soon as she kissed him, not wanting to resist what she wanted any longer. She pulled at his jacket, helping him remove it as she kissed him, unable to keep her hands from touching his face, his neck, anywhere and everywhere as she tried to lose herself in the taste of him. She wanted to feel more, to taste more of him right then and there, not caring for a moment who might see them in the hallway. Her hands deliberately drifted downward, toying with the material of his pants as she moved to unbutton them, wanting to remove them as well as the shirt he was still wearing.

Klaus had been thrown off balance for only a moment, not expecting her to be the one to make this first move, but from her eagerness, the lust he could smell coming off of her in waves, he knew there was no stopping them now. He refused to allow this to happen in the hallway, something she seemed more than eager to allow. Klaus suspected that was because she was used to quick sessions that satiated her needs for too short a time, and considering the lackluster ex-boyfriends in her life, it wouldn't surprise him at all if that was all she had ever truly experienced. Not that there wasn't something to be said for a quick rendezvous, getting to the release that both bodies desperately sought, but Klaus would be damned if that was how their first evening together would go.

_Oh, sweet Caroline._

He meant to ruin her for all others, have her repeatedly begging for release, to show her precisely what he had been talking about earlier when he spoke of finding pleasure beneath him. He grabbed her hands, stopping their teasing dance along his waist as he broke the kiss, lips pressing up her jawline and moving along to brush against her ear. "Patience," he murmured as he released her hands, pleased when she moved to tangle one hand in his necklaces, the other grasping him by the back of the neck to try and draw him closer again.

He had to be joking. Screw patience. Now was not the time for some freaking patience. Not with so many clothes still on the two of them, blocking her from truly getting what she wanted. " _No,"_ Caroline purred, and she tore at his shirt, easily ripping it off his body. She wasn't about to play the submissive role to him, especially not in regards to this. She'd pull a page out of his book and take what she wanted if needed.

"You can have your patience during round two," Caroline continued, kicking off her shoes as she looped her fingers in the waistband of his pants. "All signs are pointing to hot hybrid-vampire sex. Right time, right place, and  _definitely_ ,-" She let her hand press against the length of him, smirking,"-the right equipment, so…"

She never got to finish her sentence, his mouth crashing against hers in a demanding kiss as a low growl escaped him. Klaus roughly grabbed onto her hips, lifting her slightly, pleased when she immediately locked her legs around his waist. He flashed them out of the hallway and into his bedroom.  _Their bedroom_ , because this meant there was no going back. She did know that, didn't she? Once this bridge was crossed there would be no letting her go. Not that Klaus thought he'd be able to do that any longer anyway. Caroline Forbes had an imprint on his very soul and he meant to never lose her.

Who was he to deny her anything in this moment when she was finally giving him what he had been needing for far too long, what he was certain she had been in need of as well? Perhaps he had only admitted to himself a few months ago how much he cared for her, allowed himself to love her, to actually let love back into his life again in a way that could so easily destroy him, but he had been wanting love since long before he'd ever been turned. Long before Tatia and their affair.

He'd been craving love since it was denied to him again and again by his father, never quite given to him by his own mother, and  _this girl_ , this baby vampire nearly brought out that same need, that same longing. And while he had done horrible things to her, to her friends, she had asked him to  _show her_  all these things she thought he was capable of beneath all of the terribleness. That kindness, forgiveness, pity. Compassion. And he had in his own twisted ways. Still learning what it truly meant to give any of them, but for her he would attempt it. Never shedding his true skin, what centuries of distrust and hatred had carved him into, but he would allow her the shredded mess that was his heart.

Be careful with it, sweet Caroline. How fragile a thing it was, this non-beating organ in his chest, that he was freely giving to her.  _Trusting_  her with as he hadn't trusted anyone in more years than he could even imagine. But enough thinking about any of that, Klaus had Caroline exactly where he needed her and he was not about to squander this opportunity.

His hands pulled at her dress as he walked toward the bed and she lifted her hands from gripping his shoulders, from grasping his neck as their mouths clashed, trying to taste more of one another, so that he could pull the offending material off of her body. "Caroline," he spoke her name so reverently and she licked her lips in anticipations, own eyes darkening as Klaus set her down on the bed.

He growled at the fact that she didn't seem to want to release her hold on him, drawing him back with her so that he nearly tumbled on top of her, arms still wrapped around his neck as she continued to kiss him, refusing to let go. Klaus broke the kiss, pushing her backward so he could finally take the sight of her in. He'd seen her like this nearly once before, back when he'd been in Tyler's body, but that hadn't been  _them_. It wouldn't have been what either of them wanted or needed, and he wouldn't have wanted it to sully the sight of Caroline Forbes clad only in a white matching set with tiny red cherries spread out among the fabric, on his bed- _their bed_.

Klaus bent down, forgoing her lips and heading for her neck, knowing exactly how sensitive that landscape of flesh was to a vampire. He scraped his teeth along it, not hard enough to break skin, but enough to elicit pain among all of the pleasure, his hands moving to slide from her hips, up her back before one skirted around to her stomach, slowly making its way up to skim the underside of her bra.

Caroline tightened her grip on his waist, trying to pull him even closer as she whimpered. She dragged her nails down his back, leaving already healing welts as his mouth left her neck, sliding against her collarbone before in one quick motion he tore her bra from her body. She yelped at the motion, arching her back as he wasted no time in moving his attentions to her bare chest. Caroline's hands moved from his back up to his hair, making noises she didn't think were possible as he alternated between using his mouth, tongue, teeth and hands, driving her absolutely insane.

When his other hand drifted downward, flitting across the waistband of her panties, Caroline used all of her strength to flip them over. She was panting, unable to help her fangs from descending at his wanton gaze that seemed to rake over every inch of her exposed flesh, causing her to shiver. She deliberately bucked her hips into his own, causing a moan to escape her as well and causing his hands to fly up to her waist. Her fingers twisted in his necklaces, using them to tug him up so she could kiss him again, her other hand moving down to finish unfastening his pants.

Klaus gripped her waist, steadying her as she straddled him before letting his hands slide down her thighs. He waited until she had accomplished what she'd set out to do before regaining control and flipping her back underneath him. He divested himself of his own pants and underwear before helping her remove her own. His hand trailed up her inner thigh, knuckle brushing against her core before he easily delved a finger through her slit. He hadn't expected her to already be as wet as she was and drew the digit upward a bit, applying just enough pressure against her clit to make her cry out at the contact. Repeating the motion once again to elicit another response.

"I swear to god, Klaus," Caroline moaned, glaring at him as she caught hold of his necklaces again. There would be time for all the foreplay in the world later. She didn't want that right now, didn't need it. She just wanted him to be inside of her, filling her up completely. Was that too much to ask?

He smirked at her insatiability, purposefully drawing his finger along the little bundle of nerves again as he moved over her, easily pushing her legs further apart as he positioned himself between them. Caroline tugged on the necklaces, pulling him back down for another bruising kiss, gasping as he thrust into her body without any pretense. Her legs moved, wrapping around his waist and altering their angle as one of her hands moved to his back, nails raking down it as she kept the other twisted in his necklaces.

Klaus nipped her bottom lip, one hand propping him up as their bodies moved together, his other alternating between her breasts before sliding in between their bodies to stimulate the bundle of nerves again. Her moans, the little noises she was making as she refused to release her hold on him, heels of her feet digging into his back had him quickening the pace. He saw her fangs, the veins around her eyes puffing up and knew exactly what she needed to truly drive her over the edge.

"Have at it, Caroline," Klaus ordered, baring his neck to her and smirking as she quickly did so, fangs piercing his flesh before he even finished the sentence. Her control was gone for the moment, her true nature taking over for a moment, and she was indulging in what she needed. He felt her release, inner walls spasming around him as he continued to pound into her, and he was transfixed by her expression as she fell back against the bed.

Her mouth was bloody, smeared with his own blood and that pulled a guttural growl from deep within him. Klaus had intended on keeping up his own movements for many more minutes, to bring her to at least one more orgasm before finishing himself, but when she opened her eyes and brushed blonde curls away from her neck before arching it in his direction he knew there was no holding back now.

He tore into his own wrist first, pressing it to her mouth to continue healing her as he bent down to bite her neck, clenching his eyes shut as soon as he tasted her blood. It didn't take him long to find release, a few more thrusts and he was done for, but he kept drinking for another long moment, riding out the wave of pleasure that he knew she too was still high on.

Eventually he pulled back, pleased to see the bitemark already healing as he pulled out of her. Caroline lay back against the bed, eyes shut and looking perfectly content and Klaus couldn't help but prop himself up on his elbow to gaze down at her face, unable to stop his gaze from drifting to other parts of her body. She truly was a sight to behold and completely and utterly his, at least in his own mind. They would need to talk, to figure out the next step from here, but Klaus had no intention of letting that happen before he showed her more of what an eternity with him had to offer. She'd seen the awful parts, the king, the monster, the planner with a horrible temper, along with the charmer, the dancer, the artist. Now he would make sure she knew the lover as well.

Caroline could feel her mind turning back on, and while there were no doubts any longer, there was still so much to be focused on, so much to do and she could tell that it wanted attention paid to it. For plans to be formulated for the problems that still needed to be tackled. Except the bed shifted beneath her and Caroline opened her eyes in time to see Klaus spreading apart her thighs, lascivious smile on his face as he slowly licked his lips.

"I believe I was promised patience during round two," he smirked and Caroline grabbed at the blankets as he dipped down, pressing a kiss along her inner thigh and from his trajectory she knew exactly where he was headed.

There would be no thinking about power plays now. No determining best how to deal with the witches or what to do about her mother's body. For now, it seemed the best course of action was to celebrate their victory because she knew it had been  _theirs_ , no matter how hard she had tried to deny him for months now, even more so since stepping foot in New Orleans. There was no denying it anymore, especially not when his tongue caused her toes to curl and bring out another moan from her mouth.

And for the first time, Caroline realized that she truly didn't want to deny him- _them-_ anymore. She wanted to see exactly where this newfound role would lead her and him. The rest of it could wait until the morning.

 


	22. Chapter 22

_You're like a mirror, reflecting me_  
_Takes one to know one, so take it from me_  
_You've been lonely  
_ _You've been lonely, too long_

* * *

Caroline woke tangled up in sheets, comfortably resting her head against a pillow that she had claimed as her own. The morning sun slipped in from the window to brush over her and she groaned, pressing a hand to her eyes as she tried to will sleep back to her. How could she even think of moving when she felt perfectly comfortable? Couldn't she get a few more minutes of reprieve from everything else that was happening? Hadn't they earned that much?

Except it was then that she realized that she was very much  _alone_  in the bed and that was definitely not how she had expected to wake up. Before any doubt or insecurities could settle in, she heard the telltale sound of graphite against paper and her lips curved into a smile, but she didn't bother opening her eyes just yet. "I don't believe I said you could sketch me like this," she murmured, suddenly very aware that while her legs were covered by the sheets, her upper torso was completely exposed.

"You make the perfect muse," Klaus informed her, and she finally opened her eyes, arching a brow when she found him sitting on the edge of the bed, sketchpad resting on his thigh as he drew.

Caroline arched her back and neck, working out a few kinks she'd gotten while sleeping before moving to sit up. She didn't bother with wrapping the sheet around herself; it wasn't as though he hadn't seen her completely naked before and from the way his eyes lingered when he looked up from sketching, she knew he didn't mind the gesture. "Do you even sleep?"

Because that was something she did sometimes think about. It didn't seem to be as much of a necessity for him as it was for her, and Caroline was beginning to wonder if it was less necessity and more habit on her part. "You'll find that your sleeping patterns will change the longer you're a vampire," Klaus informed her, looking back down at his work to add a few more touches. "After all, most are meant to be nocturnal creatures. I require sleep every so often, it does help recharge my body, but not to the extent that a human or even a young vampire such as yourself might need."

"Must be nice to be so ancient," Caroline quipped, and yelped a moment later when Klaus had tossed aside the pad and pencil, pressing her back against the bed.

"I didn't hear you complaining last night, now did I, love?" Klaus kissed her before she could answer, capturing her hands and pressing them down onto the bed beside her, working to dominate her. She pulled at his grip, wanting nothing more than to tug at his hair, to grasp at his neck and pull him closer, but he wouldn't let up. Caroline purposefully hooked a leg around his waist, trying to get some sort of leverage to flip them over, but Klaus altered his position, bearing his weight down onto her to keep her securely against the bed.

"Cheater," Caroline breathed as they broke apart, eyes already darkening from barely contained need. If he thought she was going to let him have all the control he was in for another battle of their wills, something he seemed to enjoy considering how often they'd battled for control during the night. She quirked her lips at Klaus' intense gaze. It was as if he was searching her own for some sign, but she wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to find. "Gonna let me in on what's going on in that head of yours or do I have to guess?"

"I believe this is the time for you to start panicking, for regret to set in," Klaus replied, pushing off of her and moving so that he was sitting beside her instead of hovering over her.

Ah. Of course. There should have been some of those, shouldn't there? After all, he was Klaus and the length of terrible things he had done in his life to other people, to people she knew, to  _her_ was extensive. Except she'd done her own horrible things to others and maybe they didn't' quite equate to all he had done, but she didn't have any regrets. She wanted to be there, in his bed, at his side, even take on the role of queen that he seemed so certain she would excel at. It wasn't a decision she'd made lightly, it'd been one she had tried to fight off for a long time, but lying in bed with him felt  _right_. Just like being at his side in battle did. Or when they talked to the wolves as a team.

"Looks like that's not happening," Caroline replied, reaching up to tug on his necklace that she was really coming to love, urging him to bend down for another kiss. "Unless you are…?" Because that was a possibility, wasn't it? And honestly it was one of her biggest fears that now that he had finally had her...what if that was all he had wanted?

He looked questioningly down at her, wondering what the hell would have given her that impression, before deciding that he would make certain that Caroline knew exactly how much he didn't regret any of it. Not even the fact that he had allowed himself a weakness in his life. A lifetime or two ago and maybe he would have killed her, wiped out her very existence before she could pose the threat she was to his body, soul and mind, but he had tried to let her die once and that was something he couldn't fathom ever allowing again.

Klaus bent down, capturing her lips in a bruising, demanding kiss that quickly erased any doubt she might have had. Her arms curled around his neck, drawing him closer as Klaus shifted, tugging her lower body free from the tangle of sheets. "If you think for a moment that I am ever giving you up," Klaus growled, and she cried out as one of his hands slid between her thighs, fingers expertly finding the bundle of nerves and starting a steady rhythm as his mouth trailed hot kisses across her jaw and down her neck.

"That I'll ever let you go," he continued, lips moving to her collarbone as the intensity of his touch deepened. Those kinds of words should have scared her, a month ago and they would have frightened Caroline to her very core, but she had known what she was getting into when she'd pushed him up against that wall the other night.

It felt like he was trying to mark her, brand her for the world to see that she was his and like hell was she going to allow that be a one way street. "Goes both ways," she told him, one hand moving down his chest and further until she was able to wrap it around the length of him, beginning to stroke him.

Caroline grinned as he sucked in a breath at her touch, but her grin quickly morphed into a low moan when he nipped her breast before letting his tongue press against the already healing skin, soothing it. "Klaus," she sighed and tugged on his necklace, drawing him back up to her lips. As much as she was enjoying his ministrations she wanted him inside of her.

He positioned himself between her thighs, their lips crashing together as she helped guide him into her. Caroline raked a hand down his back, drawing blood as soon as he was filling her, their bodies already moving to a rhythm that they seemed to instinctually know. His eyes flashed yellow causing her own to darken, fangs descending at the sight of his own showing. She'd never indulged in this level of intimacy with Tyler. If he'd bitten her she would have died, and she'd never thought of biting into her wrist first and offering it to him as a substitute. She'd known that blood sharing was very intimate between vampires, but the thought had never crossed her mind to do it with him.

Now Caroline felt her bloodlust coming to the forefront of her mind, intermingling with her raging hormones that were already on overdrive because of how their bodies moved together. "Your fangs hurt, don't they," Klaus asked, nipping her shoulder as he thrust harder into her body, altering the angle slightly.

Caroline groaned, head pressing back against the pillow, stars seeming to dance behind her eyes. They did hurt, they craved blood, wanted desperately to sink into his flesh and take what they needed. "They're dying for a taste, even just a drop of blood," he continued, teeth scraping against her neck but never breaking the skin.

She whimpered at the contact, her desire for blood and release warring for control. Klaus leaned forward, stilling his movements and pinning her arms to the bed again. He brushed his lips over the shell of her ear, breathing out slowly for a long moment as her body strained against him, trying to get him to move again, to satiate at least one of her needs. "Have at it, sweetheart," he murmured, closing his eyes as her fangs sunk into his neck.

Klaus picked up his pace again, letting her drink her fill, loving that she was giving into her vampire side for the moment and wanting to bring out more of it. She broke away eventually, mouth red with his blood and he captured her lips again before she had time to think, and her body tensed around him as she reached her peak, arms arching into his grip that he maintained on her as she fell back onto the bed.

He'd intended to continue on for a time again, but she did that same move as the night before, arching her neck so enticingly for him and from her smirk, he knew that Caroline realized just how much he couldn't resist tasting her in any form he could get. He released her arms as his fangs sunk into her neck, letting her pull one of his wrists to her mouth, coming undone as she bit into him again.

He wasn't sure how long they continued to drink from one another, too caught up in their bloodlust to care but eventually he pulled away, dragging his wrist from her as well. Klaus arched a brow at the blood smeared across her lips, loving the primal look she still wore with her fangs still on display, golden curls splayed out around her head, reminding him of a halo. Angel of death was never a more apt description for anyone else that he had ever met.

Caroline licked her lips at his look, wondering if she'd ever get used to the intensity he always seemed to regard her with whenever he looked her way. "I suggest you cease doing that unless you're planning on not leaving this bed today," Klaus warned, slightly disappointed when she allowed her fangs to recede.

He caught himself from collapsing on top of her and rolled over instead, drawing her body with him. He couldn't help but feel pleased when she curled up against him, fingers drawing lazily over his chest as he tugged at the sheet and draped it over the two of them. There were a number of tasks that needed attention, a number of matters to discuss with his family, with the wolves, but Klaus was content to stay in the bed for as long as possible if it kept Caroline at his side. While she may have said she had no regrets, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen once she walked out of the bedroom door.

He had his kingdom, his siblings-more of less-and  _her_...now the other shoe needed to drop, the wool needed to be pulled out from under him. Call it paranoia but Klaus knew that when anything seemed this perfect that something was going to come along to screw it up. Hadn't he learned as much over the last thousand years?

"I need to go back to Mystic Falls."

And there it was.

Caroline could feel Klaus tense beneath her and she tightened her grip on him. She could only imagine what was going through his head. "I need to bury my mom and she'd want to be buried there," she told him, looking up to see his expression. It was still tense, guarded even, but she could see the admission in his eyes that she did indeed need to do that. "Plus, I kinda want  _my clothes_. I mean, it's been nice and all that you somehow have closets full of clothes that just  _happen_  to be my exact size and style- _which stalker much-_ but I want my things. Like my hopscotch champion trophy. Vital thing that."

Klaus stared up at the ceiling, letting his fingers draw through her hair. He knew he couldn't say no-well,  _he could_ -but he knew that it wouldn't get him very far. Caroline needed to bury her old life so that she could move onto her new one. "I'll only be a few days," she continued, pressing a kiss to his chest. "I'll be back."

He looked down at her again, and he knew that look in her eyes, pleading for him to trust her, to trust that she would return. Just as he had trusted that she would learn to love him when he gave her back Tyler at her graduation. And maybe that wasn't quite what this was yet, but Klaus knew he had to relinquish that bit of control over the situation. "Take one of my siblings with you," he told her, and he could see her ready to fight him on that, but then she seemed to think better of it, nodding instead.

"I guess it can't hurt to have an extra pair of hands for packing," Caroline murmured, and rested her head back on his chest, content to lay away the day on the bed with him.

Unfortunately there was a loud knock on the bedroom door. "If you two are quite finished, we've got company that wishes to speak to you both and I can only keep them waiting for so long," Rebekah called out. "Also I volunteer to accompany Caroline back to Mystic Falls."

"Exactly how long were you listening to us?" Caroline pulled the sheet up as she untangled herself from Klaus and started trying to find her clothes. She remembered the state of them and wondered what exactly she was supposed to wear instead.

"Long enough," Rebekah replied, voice dripping with distaste. Bloody vampire hearing. "Be down in five!"

Klaus watched Caroline turn a lovely shade of red at that knowledge, letting his gaze run over the length of her body that was carelessly covered. She picked up his shirt, wrinkling her nose at the state of it as well and turned back to look at him.

"I cannot go down there in a sheet."

"Closet," Klaus offered, pointing toward the door she needed. "Though, you're still caked in blood, Caroline. I'm fairly certain we need a shower before we're at all presentable."

"Rebekah said five minutes," Caroline reminded, already heading toward the closet door. She didn't get very far because Klaus was off of the bed and scooping her up within seconds.

"Rebekah doesn't make the rules," Klaus pointed out, and Caroline laughed, grabbing onto his shoulders to help steady her body. She hadn't seen him look this genuinely happy since...well...ever. It was different than when he'd seen her at graduation, than when he had taken out her Miss Mystic application from his pocket at the pageant. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it aside from the fact that she wanted to see it more often. "They'll wait."

* * *

Caleb knew something was wrong. Ever since his grandmother and the others had returned, really ever since Davina had been freed and they had killed the elder witches, he had felt off. A sickly feeling had spread through him that he couldn't seem to shake whenever he was near some of the others. He'd stuck to keeping Davina company, not wanting to be around the rest of them until the feeling passed.

At first the girl didn't seem to notice anything, simply lay in the bed and stared at the wall. He knew her mind was trying to make sense of everything she had dealt with, every lie she had ever been told, and it had to be a lot to take in. Caleb couldn't help but wonder if it was going to end up driving her insane. It wouldn't surprise him after all the mental and physical strain her body had endured whenever she took on more power.

But she had woken that morning looking fully rested and very aware. "Hello, I'm Davina," she greeted, sitting up on the bed and watching him with fresh curiosity. "I don't know your name but I do know that you helped save me."

"I'm Caleb," he told her, setting down the breakfast tray on the bedside table. "So you remember everything?"

Darkness seemed to settle over her face for a moment, gaze nearly going lifeless before she shook her head. "Yes. Is she here as well?" Davina asked, arching her neck to look behind him toward the doorway. "The Harbinger?"

"Her name is Caroline," Caleb nodded toward the food, wondering if the girl would be under the same kind of thrall that Patrick had taken to after waking from death.

"They don't all like her," Davina continued, picking up a slice of watermelon. "There are some plotting against her." She leaned forward, voice dropping low, nearly inaudible when she continued. "I can feel them. Their hate, their bias." She dropped back, nibbling on the fruit. "I don't like it. I don't like them." Davina arched a brow at him, picking up the glass of orange juice. "You can feel it too."

Caleb frowned, listening as she continued talking, uncertain what to make of the fact that she described the exact same feeling her had been plagued with for the last few days.

"I don't remember everything that she knew-Marie-she knew a lot and when I got older she remembered a lot and it became hard to tell who was me and who was her when I was painting," Davina continued, hands shaking slightly at the memory. Seeing it all through different eyes now that she was no longer connected to the other soul. Caleb reached over and took the glass out of her hands, setting it down on the table and she smiled at the gesture. "But there are ways to strip them of their power if they're not loyal. If they go against the oath."

"I know," Caleb replied, wondering if it would come to that. He hoped not. The Coven was made up of members of his family, people he had known since before he took his first steps, and the last thing he wanted to do was take away their connection to the earth. He also knew that he couldn't stand by or stomach any of them betraying Caroline. Not all of them had pledged allegiance yet, not all of them could overlook the fact she was a vampire, and he knew the time was coming for a line to be drawn in the sand. He also knew exactly whose side he would be on.

"Good," Davina murmured, looking back at the tray of food and picked up the bowl of cereal. "Then you'll help me take them down."

* * *

Rebekah turned the volume up on the stereo another notch, wondering when the two would finally make their appearance. She figured she didn't' actually want to know what was happening upstairs, even though she had a rather good idea considering all she had heard earlier and wished that Matt's idea of 'brain bleach' actually existed for her to use. There was only so long she would be able to keep Tyler Lockwood in the living room, especially from the way he kept pacing back and forth.

"I thought you told them that I was here?" he asked, glancing toward the still empty doorway.

"I didn't actually say  _your name_ ," Rebekah admitted, not really seeing the point to it. Not to mention she was certain saying the Lockwood boy's name would only have her brother try and keep Caroline up in the bed and she needed them both out of it.

"I'm going to go and-" Tyler started, already walking toward the doorway, but Rebekah easily flashed in front of him.

"No, you're not," she informed him. While she wouldn't mind if he walked in to witness her brother and Caroline going at it, she had a feeling Caroline would be mortified. It was a toss-up on if Klaus would be smug or murderous because of the situation. Maybe a bit of both. "Sit down and wait until they come of their own accord."

Caroline owed her for this one.

Elijah entered the living room, arching a brow at the boy's presence. "Seems we have more company," he commented and Rebekah shrugged. She'd have happily closed the door on Tyler's face, but hadn't been sure what Klaus wanted done with him.

"What's taking so long?" Tyler groused, still pacing back and forth.

"She'll be down in a minute," Rebekah replied, moving to sit down on one of the couches. "Sit down, Tyler," she growled a second later. "You're going to scuff the floor and then I'll have to tear out your spleen and I'd really rather not get blood on anything today."

"I'm surprised she's not moving about by now," Elijah commented, glancing at the grandfather clock in the corner. "It's not like her to be running this late." At least not from what he had observed during his time around Caroline as their guest.

"She's currently indisposed," Rebekah sighed, wondering how Elijah had gotten so lucky as to not wake up to the two the night before.

"Ah," Elijah nodded, looking toward the doorway with a small smile. Well wasn't that something.

"Anyone want to explain?" Tyler asked, feeling as though he was missing a vital piece of the puzzle.

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with," Rebekah replied with a vicious smile, ignoring Elijah's uttered warning.

Caroline and Klaus entered the room at that point, both freshly dressed and taking in whom all was in the room. What Tyler noticed was that they both had wet hair and how close the two were standing to one another. It wasn't hard for his mind to leap to a very accurate conclusion. "No fucking way," he growled, eyes narrowed as he looked between the two of them.

"And what brings us the pleasure of your company?" Klaus asked looking entirely too smug with the situation, even if part of him worried how Caroline would react to her ex-boyfriend's presence.

"Hello, Tyler," Caroline greeted, not exactly sure what she should say in the situation.

"Seriously, Caroline?" Tyler demanded, and he could feel the anger building up inside of him, wanting to be released. "With  _him_. Upgraded from phone sex to the real thing, huh? Just going to spread your legs to any-"

He never got to finish his sentence as Klaus had him pinned to the wall, hand crushing his throat as he glared at the pup. "I suggest you rethink your next words very carefully, Tyler," he suggested, tone menacing.

Caroline sat down by Rebekah, shaking her head at the show. There was no way this conversation was going to happen without the two of them getting into a dominance match if she reacted to what Tyler had said. "Let him go, Klaus."

He'd obviously come for a reason and she couldn't blame Tyler for his shock. His choice of words, yes, but there were more important things to worry about than careless words being thrown her way. "Why did you come here, Tyler? Where's Hayley?"

Klaus didn't want to let him go. He wanted to crush the boy's throat for having the audacity to insinuate such a thing about Caroline. And then when the boy revived to make certain Tyler would never be so careless with his word choice ever again. "Not until he tells us what we need to know," Klaus replied, unwilling to budge on this issue.

He glared down into the boy's eyes, his own expression letting Tyler know that not even Caroline's wishes could save him now if he didn't offer an excellent explanation for his presence. "Hayley's gone," Tyler told them, struggling to speak for a moment before Klaus let up a little on his windpipe. "Whatever spell was keeping her in place broke and she left."

"The baby…" Elijah started, but Tyler shook his head as best he could.

"Not actually Klaus'. Apparently some sort of trick by Katherine's witches," Tyler continued, and Klaus released him completely at that point. "She didn't have a clue about it until Katherine filled us in on everything the other day and then I told you."

"Who's then?" Elijah demanded, his stoic demeanor seeming to chip away at the seams.

"Some random guy from Mystic Falls. Or that was visiting. Passing through. I don't know." Tyler shrugged, not sure what else to say about any of that.

"And this is why we don't put our faith in magic," Klaus commented, looking entirely too elated at the new knowledge. Elijah glowered at him. "What did you think was going to happen anyway, Elijah? She'd give birth and we'd suddenly become one giant happy family again?"

"Klaus," Caroline warned, but Rebekah touched her arm, shaking her head to try and keep her out of the discussion.

"Because god forbid we be allowed happiness," Elijah countered, balling his hands into fists at his side. "God forbid you let yourself feel anything besides pain, betrayal, or loneliness. You do this to yourself, Niklaus. I wonder how long before you start pushing Caroline away as you do Rebekah and I." And with that he stormed out of the room.

"I'll go after him," Rebekah sighed, already rising from the chair and casting Klaus a nasty look before she exited the room.

Caroline crossed her arms in annoyance as she regarded Klaus who simply shrugged, failing to see the point in the dramatic exits. He wouldn't dwell on what Elijah had said, refusing to acknowledge it for the moment, and instead turned his attention back to Tyler. "And you came to tell us all of this out of the goodness of your heart?"

There had to be a catch. There always was one.

"I want to leave." Part of Tyler had thought that maybe Caroline would be going with him. That maybe he could have snuck her out of New Orleans, convinced her to come along, but that dreamed died as soon as she had walked into the room with Klaus' scent all over her.

There was a part of Klaus that wanted the boy to stay in town, to force Tyler to watch Caroline's rise as his Queen, to see how much she loved him. But he knew Caroline wouldn't like it, that she'd be opposed to the idea, and what did it matter if the boy was here or far away? No matter where he was Tyler would know that he had lost Caroline forever. That he now had absolutely nothing in his life and wasn't that a wonderful punishment for the boy's earlier attempt to overthrow him?

"You're free to leave," Klaus informed him, hands clasped behind his back as he regarded the young man who had once held a special place to him. His first Hybrid. Unfortunately Tyler hadn't seen the honor in holding such a position. Pity. "But know that everything else still holds true, Tyler." All the other compulsion if the boy tried to plot against him or help anyone else do so.

Tyler nodded, gripping his hands at his side and still trying to control the anger that raged within. "Give us a minute," Caroline finally spoke up, watching the boy she had loved once with all her heart, that she still cared for. She glanced over at Klaus, could see the war inside of him at agreeing to her request or denying it. She tilted her head, offering him a small, reassuring smile which he gave a curt nod to before stalking out of the room.

Silence drifted between the remaining two, neither quite sure exactly what to say, what to do. This wasn't how either of them had pictured their lives, but unlike Tyler, Caroline felt she was exactly where she needed to be. Or at the very least, headed in the right direction. "Don't let your pain and suffering destroy you, Tyler," Caroline started, rising from the couch. "Go and find a new place to live, a new girl to love. Go be happy."

"How can I be happy when I don't have anything left?" Tyler asked, but he didn't sound angry, it was more defeated than anything else.

"By finding the good things in life that still exist?" She paused; not really wanting this to be the way to tell him, but maybe it would help. "Marcel killed my mom and it hurt. God, it still hurts  _so much._ And I have a feeling it'll hurt for a long time but she wouldn't want her death to destroy me. Your mom wouldn't want hers to do that to you."

Tyler was silent for a long moment, unable to look at her. Part of him wanted to offer comfort, but he couldn't. He didn't have it in him and he had a feeling she wouldn't want it from him. "Marcel's dead. Your mom's killer is dead. Mine won't ever be. He'll just keep on living forever and there's not a damn thing I can do about it."

It was true. Klaus would probably never pay for Carol Lockwood's death. "No, you can't," she agreed with a small sigh. "But you can decide if you're gonna let that knowledge kill you and he gets to win again or you can decide to live, and enjoy your life, and show him that he didn't win. That you can still thrive despite all he ever took from you."

"That's the man you're sharing your bed with," Tyler bit out, expecting her to look at least a little regretful at the admission.

Caroline didn't though. She simply nodded, head held high. "I know."

"Do you?" Tyler demanded, because he couldn't understand how she could know that and be with him.

"Yes. And I choose to do so," Caroline replied, watching him closely. "I don't expect you or anyone else to understand, but he helps me a better me. I'm happy." And she liked to think that she helped Klaus be a better him. Not changed him because she couldn't change Klaus, but she held him up to expectations that it seemed he hadn't been held to in centuries. Challenged him just as he did her. "Find something that helps you be happy, Tyler."

Tyler shook his head, convinced she had lost her mind, but what was there for him to do about it? "Be safe, Caroline," he whispered and was out of the house before she could respond.

"You too, Tyler," she murmured, staring at the space he had been for a long moment. She felt like a piece of weight had been lifted off her shoulders, noticing that again she didn't feel any of the guilt she had been so certain she would feel for heading down this path. There was sadness at watching Tyler walk away because Caroline knew that was probably the last time they would ever cross paths and while she wasn't in love with him anymore, Tyler Lockwood would always hold a special place in her heart, and it felt like she was shutting the door on a part of her past.

She couldn't help but wonder how many more doors she would be closing in the next few days...but then she knew there were so many more opening up for her now as well. And wasn't this part of growing up? Caroline just hadn't thought she'd be jumping into it as quickly as she had ever since graduation. Her life had taken on a whirlwind change and she had a feeling that it wouldn't be slowing down anytime soon.

Strong arms wrapped around her and she nearly jumped at the contact, but she was immediately overwhelmed by the sense of safety that seemed to flow through her at the gesture. She breathed in Klaus' scent, leaning back into his embrace, and covering his arms with her own so she could hold onto him as well.

"We need to go see my Coven," Caroline murmured, not quite wanting to do that. She'd much rather drag him back up to the bedroom and continue getting better acquainted with his body and from the way Klaus was drawing her hair back, breath trailing down her neck and causing her to tilt her head to the side to give him more access, she knew she wasn't the only one thinking that way. "I'm not going to tolerate what they tried to do the other day, Klaus, and the sooner they understand that the better. Plus I know it took all you had not to rip out their hearts or their heads off after that little stunt, so they should also know that if they try it again, that I'll let you."

" _Let me?_ " Klaus nipped her shoulder at that. Perhaps she had been able to stop him from tearing out hearts a few times in regards to the little band of witches, but when it came down to it, if he truly believed that was the course of action he needed to take then Klaus would do what he needed. Regardless of her feelings on the matter.

" _Yes_. Let you. As in not try and fight for their lives or stand in your way," Caroline slipped out of his grip, holding up her hand and letting dark light surround it for a moment. "Because technically if I don't agree with what you're doing I can do that."

Klaus pressed his lips together at that, not exactly happy with that admission. He couldn't deny she held power, that he  _wanted_ her to have it as long as it didn't end up killing her, but it was still a new experience to have someone with that much power in his life and not try and strip them of it. He would have tried to conquer it, subdue it from anyone else. Break whoever had this sliver of power that could be used to counteract his decisions and mold them to his way of thinking, to blindly following him via compulsion. He couldn't do any of those things with Caroline. Instead he had to somehow learn to accept that she was able to do this, to trust in her not to abuse it. And that was hard. It might have been one of the hardest things he had ever done, trusting someone else after so many years of trusting only himself. Even his siblings couldn't be trusted completely in his eyes.

And yet here was this slip of a girl, this baby vampire, and he was willing to do it for her. To learn to trust again, to acquiesce that little bit of power to her because she had been right the other night. She wouldn't allow herself to be anything less than his equal. He'd known that ever since she walked away from him at the ball, tossing the bracelet at him after parting with some cold hard truths that had struck a chord in his cold, dead heart.

Caroline Forbes had been wearing a crown long before he had ever laid eyes on her. Klaus simply wanted to bring out that light she held within and let it shine for everyone to see. Not let it be squandered away in a tiny town that could never appreciate her fully. So he would give her this, allow her this equality that he would never allow anyone else to have with him.

"I will kill again, Caroline," Klaus started, needing to know that she understood that. He'd said as much in regards to the New Orleans witches if they ever plotted against him again and she had seemed to understand that then, but he needed to know that she still did.

"I know," she replied, wanting him to know that she did understand what she had signed up for. Mostly anyway. "And there will be times when you'll do it and I'll agree with it and maybe even help, times when you'll do it and I'll try to stop you and succeed, other times I'll fail, and times when you'll do it and I'll be furious with you for days. Maybe weeks. We'll see. I can kinda hold a grudge when I want to." They would make it work, she was certain of that. Compromise wasn't a one way street and while she wouldn't compromise on her morals, on the humanity that she still clung to, she'd also learned that the world wasn't exactly as black and white as she'd been helplessly clinging to it being for most of the last year.

"Then let's go and see your Coven." Because Klaus had a feeling that heads would be rolling before the day was done.

* * *

"She's here," Davina bolted out of the bed, nearly knocking the tray of new food over as Caleb followed her out the bedroom door and across the hallway, into a new room to look out of a front facing window. Davina pressed her forehead against the glass, gazing down at the front yard and Caleb watched as Caroline and Klaus headed toward the front door.

This wouldn't end well. Too many of the others didn't want him or his siblings invited into the house, afraid of what he might do to them if they didn't have this sanctuary available to them. He couldn't exactly blame them for that worry, having been on the receiving end of Klaus' compulsion and having seen exactly what the Hybrid was capable of doing. But it wasn't their house, it belonged to Caroline and so it was her decision who was allowed inside.

"The time for sides has come," Davina whispered, fingers trailing over the glass and he was certain that she wasn't quite completely together in her head, and that maybe she sensed things a little differently after all her body and mind had endured. After having been brought back from death by the Harbinger power. No one had ever told him how that would affect a witch. "You already know where you stand. Now see where the others do, Caleb."

He took a deep breath, uncertain how anything was going to play out and headed toward the stairs. He hadn't even left the room before he could hear the rising voices, a heated debate starting to unfold on the lawn. Caleb took the stairs down two at a time, wanting to get out there quicker, surprised to see his grandmother had remained inside. She was sitting on the couch and nodded at him as he stopped to look at her, confused as to why she wasn't trying to calm everything down. Wasn't that usually her job?

Cecile didn't say a thing, simply motioned toward the door, and Caleb knew he didn't have time to stop and chat, quickly leaving her behind to elbow his way through the crowd of witches. "So you  _are_ siding with the vampires," Caleb could hear one of them mutter, unable to distinguish who among the masses.

There was an uproar of muttering, some for and some against Caroline. He could see Klaus stiffen at her side, no doubt ready to rip out as many hearts as he was able to, but Caleb didn't want it to come to that. He didn't want any of these people who he had known since he was a baby to die because of their biases, because they were afraid. There had to be another way. He could see Caroline struggling to reason with them as well as try to keep Klaus from going off and she shouldn't have to do that. The Harbinger was supposed to trust in the Coven above all else. They were supposed to be her protectors, not people she couldn't quite put her faith in.

"Ødeleggeren av fred bort disse shores og aldri komme tilbake," yelled someone in the crowd, and all eyes were instantly drawn to Caroline, waiting to see what would happen.

It was the first time Caleb had ever seen fear in Klaus' eyes, the stark realization that they might have just banished her from the city forever, made her a target that needed to be stripped of her powers as soon as possible. Caleb knew that's what the speaker of the curse had intended, to prove that Caroline was unfit for the duty, but the opposite was proven.

She didn't move no force propelled her back. Caroline remained exactly where she had been before the curse had been uttered, though now she was glaring at the crowd. He knew she was realizing that there was no way of winning over those who wouldn't see past the fact she was a vampire. But here was the test, how would she deal with that, what would she do?

"I'm still here because everything I have done has been to restore  _balance_ ," Caroline shook her head, wondering what else it would take to make those who couldn't see that understand. "Maybe it's not the balance all of you wanted, but it's restored. The witches have power, the vampires have power and so do the wolves. Is it equal? No. But it never is, but it's not stifling one another and no group is currently trying to oust the others."

Caleb could still hear the murmurings, those who didn't believe anything that she was saying, convinced it was all somehow a trick and he knew what he needed to do. He closed his eyes, needing to gather the strength to complete this next step. Looking up for a moment, he spotted Davina at the window, and watched her nod.

He could feel an extra jolt of power rush through him and watched the girl's eyes darken for a moment. He knew then that she was sharing her power with him to help bolster his next step.

Caleb pushed to the front of the crowd, whirling around as soon as he was standing before Caroline and Klaus

"Forrædere av eden, forsake dine krefter og aldri igjen føle forbindelsen til jorden," he stated, and for a moment dark energy much like Caroline's surrounded him, before it spiraled out, grasping onto those who would not ever accept Caroline's status. Shrieks of terror mixed with pain at the sudden loss of their powers rippled through the crowd.

"Caleb?" Caroline asked, catching him as he fell forward, weakened from the spell. "What did you do?" He smiled up at her, touched by her concern and wondered how they had come so far from being complete strangers to having one another's back. To him believing in her completely. "You're not allowed to die on me, I like forbid it."

He laughed at that, groaning a second later at the effort that took. "I'm not dying," Caleb assured, letting her help him up to his feet.

"He took their powers," Klaus surmised, and Caleb didn't need to look at the Hybrid to know that he was pleased by the outcome. He could envision the smug, victorious look on Klaus' face and didn't want to see it.

"What?" Caroline glanced over at the Coven, watching some of them sob, pulling at their hair and knew they must have been overwhelmed by the loss of their connection to the world around them. Some were trying to comfort the others, while others looked on, shaking their heads at those whose lives were forever altered.

"They didn't deserve the right to be part of the Leseid Coven," Caleb told her, glaring out at how many had been affected. "They would never have accepted you. Always second guessed and that's not their duty. It's to protect you, guide you, and be there for you in your time of need."

"Now what to do with this useless bunch of witches," Klaus mused, and Caroline snapped her attention to him, glaring. She was instantly reminded of their conversation before coming to the house, of the fact that there would be times he would kill, and she didn't want this to be one of those times. She also had a feeling that he was seeing those who'd been affected by the spell as traitors, as those who needed to be dealt with now.

"Can they ever get their power back?" Caroline asked, trying to figure out a solution.

Caleb shook his head. "No. They won't ever be able to use magic again," he told her, warily watching Klaus and he knew the others were doing the same.

"You have one hour to get out of New Orleans, to go home and never step foot in this city again," Caroline stated, looking out at the group. "I wish this could have turned out differently. That you could put aside your prejudices and worked with me like the Coven is supposed to, but you couldn't and Caleb did as he needed." And she knew what a sacrifice it must have been to her friend, to strip an identity away from so many people that he had known forever. To lose that connection to them. "Go home and live your lives. Be with your families. Make new ones. Grow old. Live in peace." Wasn't that what anyone wanted? Or at least most people? "But know that if you plot against me, against this city, there is no power that will be able to stop Klaus, that will stop  _me_ from coming after you and everyone that you know."

The witches stripped of their powers headed inside, leaving about ten left on the lawn and Caroline knew that this was the remainder of her Coven. "I'm not inviting Klaus inside or any other vampire. I know you'll want this to be a place you can sleep soundly without worrying and I don't blame you for that." As much as she might have trusted Klaus around her, she wouldn't force that trust from others. "You're probably going to want to help the rest get their things together so that they can leave. I'm gonna leave Caleb in charge so defer to him for things but you can always come and see me at the house or you know, texting! I'm an avid texter."

She was met with nods and smiles before they filed in after the others, only Caleb remaining behind. "I will be monitoring them and if they step even a toe out of line," Klaus warned as the door closed, leaving the three outside. He leaned closer to Caroline, running a hand down her spine that she quickly swatted away. "Though, I'm quite pleased you won't be taking up this place as your residence."

"We'll talk about that later," she told him through gritted teeth which only seemed to make his smile broaden. So she focused her attention on Caleb. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm pretty sure that's my line to you," he replied, glaring at Klaus. "I'll be fine. I'll make sure they're all out before the hour is up."

"Thank you," Caroline glanced over at the house, finally noticing Davina's face pressed against the upper floor window. "She's conscious?" The last she had heard the girl was unconscious and unable to handle everything that had happened.

"Since this morning. I'm pretty sure she's going to be tied to you like Patrick is," Caleb informed her, waving to the girl who reciprocated. Caroline watched the girl smile as she joined in on the waving, uncertain as to how bonded the girl was to her now. She really had no clue how to deal with a Sire bound witch.

"Speaking of Patrick, have you seen him?" Because she hadn't in a few days and worried about the vampire.

"He... tried to take off with me a few days back. Something about needing to keep me and him safe," Caleb looked sheepish, running a hand through his hair. "I kinda knocked him out and locked him up in one of the cells in Klaus' other house."

"Way to wreck my safety precaution for you," Caroline chided, pouting at him. "That was supposed to ensure your safety through all the craziness!"

"I'd have figured out how to get back here as soon as I broke free of him," Caleb pointed out and she pursed her lips at that, knowing it was true. Also realizing that just like she couldn't rule her mother's life that she couldn't do that to Caleb either. He needed to be free to make the choices he wanted and to live it as he saw fit. She couldn't take the free will from him.

"If we're done here, I have a few spots I've wanted to show you in New Orleans since you arrived," Klaus commented, clearly finished with the conversation and annoyed by the lack of attention he was receiving from her.

"I'll come to see you, Davina and the others tomorrow and we can talk Coven and Harbinger things. I don't even know what we're supposed to talk about but we'll figure it out!" Caroline grinned at the witch, pulling him in for a quick hug. "Call me if you need anything."

"You do that too," Caleb told her, hugging her tightly for a moment before releasing her.

Klaus didn't even bother to acknowledge his presence, holding out his arm to Caroline who rolled her eyes at him before taking it. She smiled one last time at Caleb before the two headed off to explore the city.

Caleb watched them go, uncertain how he felt about how close the two of them had become but he also knew that it was none of his business. Also the fact that Klaus hadn't killed any of them as he so clearly wanted to do so was a definite plus. Maybe the two of them in a relationship would actually turn out to be a good thing for the city. He hoped so, because Caleb feared what would happen if it turned out to be a disaster. He was pretty sure New Orleans would never survive that storm.

Caleb shook his head, clearing it of his worries, before he headed back into the house, ready to make good on the Harbinger's orders.

* * *

Katherine scratched at her elbow; the damn itch wouldn't go away no matter how she tried to ignore it or how much she tried to soothe it, to give into the urge to scratch it away. She'd known after dealing with it for two hours that it wasn't normal, that it had to be something magical that was happening to her. She'd already fled New Orleans after seeing Marcel's building burning in the night, after getting wind of the Harbinger being in town. She still couldn't believe that it was who they were saying. So she'd ran as fast and as hard as she could, heading toward the witch who was her last hope.

"You're being tracked," Esma told her, handing her a cream to soothe the ache. Though she knew that it was only a matter of time before the other witch or witches were able to locate Katherine Pierce. No amount of cloaking or counter spells could save the other woman now and Esma couldn't exactly feel pity for the woman that was being chased. She'd never have helped her if not for the compulsion forced upon her years ago after a bout of flu had kept her vervain free and weak of enough to exploit.

"Fix it!" Katherine demanded, narrowing her eyes at the older woman. Wasn't that the whole point of her coming here, for Esma to work her magic and make it disappear?

"If it was an ordinary spell I might be able to but whoever is tracking you is using magic far beyond my capability," Esma informed her, trying to keep her amusement out of her voice. It was nice to see Katherine looking and feeling as helpless as she had for so many years. "Who did you piss off this badly?" Because she was certain Klaus didn't have this kind of witch at his disposal.

Katherine plopped down onto a chair, applying a hefty amount of the balm to her skin. "How the hell was I supposed to know she'd become the new Harbinger?" she grouched, tossing the bowl onto the table when she was finished. "I knew I should've just gotten rid of her when I had the chance. Killing her in that damn hospital hasn't helped me at all." Well, it had at first, but it clearly had helped Caroline out more than herself.

Esma gasped, and Katherine rolled her eyes, thinking it was because she'd mentioned the Harbinger. Everyone always got into such a state whenever that being was discussed. She turned toward the witch, eyes widening as she saw the older woman grasping her neck, blood trickling down it and through her fingers before she fell over. Katherine scrambled backward, wondering what could have done that, and looked around the room, trying to find a weapon she could use to defend herself.

"Hello there, my little walking cure."

She snapped around, gasping at the familiar sight in front of her. "Stefan?" She knew from his smirk, from the deadness in his eyes that it wasn't her old lover. "Silas."

The ancient monster's smile grew and he stepped toward her, easily grabbing onto her before she could bolt away. "Now, tell me, what's this about new Harbinger?" His eyes bore down into hers, taking over her mind. "Or better yet, just be still and let me pry it all out of your mind."


	23. Chapter 23

_Dancing slowly in an empty room,_  
_Can the lonely take the place of you?_  
_I sing myself a quiet lullaby._  
_Let you go and let the lonely in  
_ _To take my heart again._

* * *

There were a million things that needed to be done. A funeral to plan, lawyers to talk to, plans for what she was going to do with the house, with her mom's car, actually talking to the various people in town who wanted to speak with her now that she was back. Caroline hadn't known where to start with any of it, uncertain the entire flight back to Virginia only to be greeted by old Mr. Carlson from Mystic Falls' funeral parlor. She'd known him all of her life, grew up with his kids who were two years older-one already off in college and the other married and involved in the family business. She'd been to funerals before, her own father's, Jeremy's, Jenna's. Too many to count in recent years, but she'd never had to shoulder the burden of being the one to dictate what would happen.

He'd told her that she needed to pick out something for her mother to be buried in and so that was why after releasing the body to his care-thankful her Coven had done some sort of spell on the body to preserve it-she and Rebekah had traveled the hour or so from the airport to her old house. It was why she was standing in the middle of her mother's closet, breathing in the scent of her and trying to figure out what in the world she'd have wanted to be buried in.

Part of Caroline wondered if she should pick the uniform her mother was so routinely seen wearing, but she didn't want that to be the last image everyone saw of the woman. Yes, she'd been the town Sheriff and that was important, but she was  _her mother_  and that was also a huge part of who Liz Forbes had been. That was the reason Liz Forbes had died and Caroline meant to honor that part of the woman as well.

She hadn't had time to really grieve-too many other things happening that had to be dealt with-but standing in the middle of her mother's closet, all Caroline could do was see how much she had lost when Marcel had torn that heart from her chest. The tears fell freely as she pushed aside outfit after outfit, blurrily trying to make her way through the wardrobe for something that would jump out at her as the one to pick. Memories of her mother wearing them also hit her, making her cry harder.

"You don't have to do this right now," Rebekah's told her, no snarkiness to her voice and Caroline shook her head.

"If I don't do it now I don't think I'll ever get it done," Caroline whispered, brushing at her tears to try and clear her vision. "I don't think she'd like a dress. She was never a big fan of wearing them. Or skirts. Definitely a jeans person, my mom." She sobbed at the last words and was startled for a moment when Rebekah touched her shoulder.

"Then you find a shirt that complimented her complexion and I'll find a nice pairs of jeans," Rebekah replied, and even offered a sympathetic smile. It may have been ages ago, but she remembered what it was like to lose her mother the first time. She may have grown to despise Esther once she returned and tried to kill them all, but when she had first died, Rebekah had been just as Caroline was, a girl without a mother, and Rebekah knew how hard a blow that was to deal with let alone being the one in charge of all the new requirements that seemed to go along with someone dying these days.

"Thanks," Caroline murmured, briefly returning the smile before setting out to do that. She settled on a peach button up that her mother had always looked nice in, one that Caroline had even complimented her on once or twice before turning her attention to the shoes. Her mother had never owned that many pairs and so that was an easier task to complete.

Rebekah held up a pair of jeans that would work fine and Caroline nodded, setting down the rest of the clothes onto the bed. "I'll take these to the funeral parlor," Rebekah offered, pursing her lips at the ensemble. It did remind her of the Sheriff and what little she had known of her. "You know word will have gotten around by now and I suspect it won't take long for the doppelganger to make her way here."

Caroline could only nod again, her voice not seeming to work. Rebekah gathered up the items and headed toward the door, stopping only for a moment at Caroline's barely audible, "Thank you," before heading off to get the job done. She knew Caroline needed to be alone for a while and definitely didn't need her to be present once the rest of her friends did turn up. Rebekah had a feeling Caroline already had enough to explain without needing to go into why an Original was currently accompanying her back to Mystic Falls.

And there were some people Rebekah needed to check on without worrying about being asked a million questions as to why she cared for their wellbeing.

Caroline watched her go for a moment before sitting down on her mother's bed. What was she supposed to do with it now? Or the dresser? Or the clothes and shoes that her mother would never wear again? The practical side of Caroline prodded her to donate it to a shelter, something worthy in her mother's name, where it could be used to help others in need. But the little girl inside of her that was desperate for her mother didn't want to part with a single piece of it. Not the ratty old jeans she had begged her mother to get rid of only a few weeks ago. Not the bed she had crawled into when she was little and scared of thunderstorms.

She shifted on top of it, crawling like she had all those years ago to the head and pulling back the covers so that she could curl up underneath. Clutching one of the pillows tightly to her, Caroline breathed in the scent that was all Liz Forbes-that gun cleaning oil and raspberry vanilla lotion her mother always wore-unable to stop the renewal of tears as she allowed herself to grieve for her mother. The rest of it could wait an hour or two; this time was reserved for the little girl inside of her crying at the injustice of the world that would keep on turning even though her mother would never look at her again. For all of the things they had been cheated out of because of her own death and turning-dreams that both of them had expected to come true so quickly snuffed by another person's selfishness-only for that same person to have a hand in her mother's death as well.

There was no room for anger in that moment, just a deep sadness that seemed to consume Caroline as she remembered everything she had ever done with Liz Forbes and imagine everything they would never get a chance to do.

* * *

Klaus listened to the young man go through what had happened over the last few days since Marcel and his army had been decimated. The findings of the human investigation and the spin that the officials were using to write off what had happened to the historical building in the Quarter as well as the number of people who had vanished from the area. There were a few tourists who'd been in the club, met their fate at Marcel's hands, and their bodies would never be recovered. Families would come looking for them but an investigation would always meet a dead end considering any vampire body that had been in that building had become ash by the time the fire had been extinguished.

He knew he needed to pay attention to what the man was reporting, needed to plan for how he was going to get the little human coalition to do as he said-probably sticking to his usual threats and power to get his way-but Klaus couldn't help that his thoughts kept turning to Caroline. Rebekah and she had left earlier that morning and while he knew they had arrived safely in Mystic Falls he couldn't help the fear that gripped him about them being back in that place. Nothing good ever came of returning to that town for long and he couldn't help but wonder if Caroline would do as she said and return to New Orleans, or if the ties from her past would try to keep her there indefinitely.

"Angie, my sister, she thinks these are the ones who are in the council," Anthony continued, setting down a number of pictures in front of Klaus. "I put their connections on the back. Who their family is made up of and any other activities that might be of interest."

Klaus lifted an eyebrow at that, impressed with the boy's thoroughness. He wasn't surprised by the findings. After all, he'd had a hand all those years ago in creating the council that the humans had eventually taken on as their own. The faces may have changed, but the basics of its makeup had endured. Police commissioner, coroner, bishop, the mayor. All people with power that they didn't wish to lose, trying to stay afloat in a city that had been the supernatural's playground since its birth. He'd need to meet with them all soon enough and reclaim his place.

"And your sister, Anthony," Klaus started, looking up from the pictures to focus on the boy. "What all is she willing to do for us?" Because having someone in the news department could be beneficial in the long run. Especially if they could get her into a somewhat powerful position.

"Whatever it takes to keep her family safe," Anthony told him, standing a little straighter. "And she considers the pack to be her family." It was all either of them had left after the years of living under Marcel's reign.

"Good." Klaus grinned before shuffling the photos back into a pile. "Have her continue to look into what she can and assign some of our own to follow this lot around. I have an idea of where they hold their meetings, but it never hurts to be as informed as possible before heading into the lion's den."

Anthony nodded and left the room, intent on immediately following through with the orders. Klaus watched him go, satisfied with how things seemed to be proceeding. He knew there would be bumps along the way, those who would try to throw a coup, who would defy him, but it seemed that the wolves-this pack of his-they were actually loyal. And not through force, not through fear, but because they desired to be so. It wasn't exactly new for him-there had been plenty of vampires who had followed him of their own desire, but they had always done so for power, for protection. This pack saw him as their leader, their Alpha, and while he did offer them power and protection, Klaus was slowly beginning to see that those were not the only reasons why they looked to him for guidance.

It was new, different, and a little unsettling, but he enjoyed it as well. Or at least, he did when he didn't allow his paranoia to get the better of him, wondering when they too would turn on him as everyone seemed to do over the years.

Speaking of betrayers-it seemed only fitting that Elijah strolled in during his thought process, looking intent on ignoring Klaus' presence as he headed toward the bookshelf. "Here comes my ever noble brother," Klaus started, a lilting tone to his voice as he smirked at the vampire. "And who are you intent on doing your white knight routine with today? Doesn't seem to be any wilting flowers around to fall at your feet to be saved from the Big Bad Hybrid."

"I see you're stuck on your spoiled child setting today," Elijah replied, trying not to let his brother get to him. He knew it was a futile endeavor though. Klaus always seemed to have a way of cutting right to the heart of him, just as he did in return for Klaus. "All I wanted was for us to be a  _family_  again, Niklaus. Something you seem to desire and fear in equal parts at any given moment." He sat down on the couch, already opening the book he had picked out and ready to read, even if he knew there was little chance of that happening.

"No, you wanted a means to control me," Klaus stated, and Elijah looked up from the book, frowning at the statement. Klaus glared at him, firmly believing that to be the truth. "Or perhaps replace me, raise up my supposed child in ways that you were unable to do so for me when I was young." Protect the baby when he could not,  _would not_  protect him from Mikael's wrath. A thousand years had passed but Klaus would always remember how Elijah had helped Mikael contain him after his first turning, how he had let their mother trap part of him, leaving him feeling less than whole for so many centuries.

"How long will I pay for the sins of my past, Niklaus?" Elijah asked, already knowing the answer.

"As long as I will, brother," Klaus informed him, rising from his own seat. "But I've chosen to forgive you for your desperation with the baby." He settled onto the couch across from Elijah, smiling as he observed his brother.

"How generous of you," Elijah muttered, looking back down at the book and knowing that Klaus needed something. He also knew that he would do it. "And what is it that you need?"

"And that's why I could never leave you daggered for too long," Klaus replied, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. Elijah simply turned to the next page, waiting for Klaus to get to the point. "I need to meet with the little council. I'm sure you remember how it was in the past. Be ready to deal with them like we used to, hmm?"

"I'll have your back," Elijah swore, looking up at Klaus and watching his brother's amusement fade away, quickly replaced by a malevolent grin.

"I suppose we'll see how true that is in time," he muttered, and rose from the chair, no longer wanting to be in the other vampire's company. "I'll be paying a visit to a few old stomping grounds later tonight." Wouldn't hurt to see the council members in their own environment first before ever confronting them.

"And when do the girls return?" Elijah asked, noting how stiff Klaus got at the question. He couldn't help but feel a little satisfied at the fact the question seemed to bristle his brother.

"They'll return when they're ready," Klaus replied, the doubt setting back in about Caroline ever leaving that damn town again and he refused to let it swallow him whole, to drown in that misery. He left before anything else could be asked, heading off to the room he'd had an easel set up in and ready to lose himself in the canvas for a few hours. If that didn't work then he supposed he'd use New Orleans as his own personal canvas and once again paint the streets with blood.

Elijah frowned as he watched Klaus exit the room, wondering when his brother would truly ever trust him again, wondering what he would to do to prove himself to actually be trustworthy considering all that had transpired between the two of them in the past. And when he would actually be able to trust in Klaus which was perhaps the biggest obstacle for Elijah to overcome because he honestly didn't know if he ever could trust the Hybrid again. All Elijah knew was that he  _wanted_  to be able to do so and continued to hold out hope that there would come a day when it would truly be able to do so again.

* * *

Caroline didn't know how long she had been laying in the bed. Time seemed to be in constant state of fluctuation for her-switching between speeding along uncontrollably to moving at a snail's pace. She could tell that the shadows had changed, indicating that it hadn't been only a matter of minutes, but try as hard she could, Caroline couldn't seem to muster the strength to actually get out of the bed. There were footsteps making their way to the room, and she figured Rebekah must have returned, not really bothering to pay attention until she noticed that there was a heartbeat associated with the steps.

She turned as the door was pushed open slightly, tears renewing in her eyes as Matt peered in the doorway. "Hey, Rebekah told me what happened," he murmured, already crossing the threshold and heading to her before she could even speak. She let him gather her up in his arms, clinging to him tightly and remembered when her father had died that he'd been there to offer comfort as well. "I'm so sorry, Caroline."

She only cried harder at his words, knowing he meant them and that there was nothing either of them could do to bring her back. Several minutes passed before she could speak, pulling away from him to sit up against the headboard of the bed, pillow resting in her lap. "What happened?" Matt asked, watching her closely, trying to figure out what had been going on.

He'd returned from Europe shortly after Rebekah had left and came back to find Caroline was gone on her own road trip. He hadn't expected that. Matt had thought that Tyler would have made his way back to Mystic Falls and the two of them would have been enjoying each other's company, but it seemed like his old friend wasn't planning to ever set foot in the town again. And then the Sheriff had just been gone one day and some out of towners had turned up dead. They'd all been suspicious, but Damon had said he'd look into it, and Matt had figured if anyone could figure out the supernatural mess it would be the vampire.

Didn't seem like that had been the best course of action.

"I don't even know where to start," Caroline told him, staring up at the wall. "Everything's changed." And not just losing her mother, but she knew that was what Matt would think she was referring to.

"It'll be okay, Caroline," Matt started, trying to reassure her, but he knew what it was like to lose family. How lost one felt after that kind of blow. "I'm here for you."

"I know," she assured him, trying to offer a small smile but it didn't really work. Her smiling meter seemed to be caput. "Everything really has changed though, Matt." She shrugged, trying to find the words to explain everything that had happened since she'd last seen him after graduation. She remembered how happy he had looked, ready to explore the world. It seemed like years since then, but she knew it'd only been about a month.

Caroline held out her hand, letting the dark light surround it, and watched him react to it, surprise clearly written in his features. "I think you need to start from the beginning," Matt told her, because she sure as hell hadn't been able to do that one month ago. What the hell even was that?

That actually earned a laugh from her that quickly morphed into a stifled sob, grateful when he reached out to hold onto her hands. It still amazed her sometimes how far they had come from him saying he never wanted to look at her again because of what she had become, but she was still her, underneath the fangs and the bloodlust that liked to rear its head, she was still Caroline Forbes, and she wouldn't lose that. If anything being a vampire had helped mature her.

It took her awhile, but she eventually got out every last detail about the last month to him-from the Harbinger revelation to breaking up with Tyler to the war in New Orleans.

"So you're gonna go back," Matt asked, and she was grateful that he didn't sound accusatory, just watched her cautiously, trying to figure out what was happening in her head.

"Yes," Caroline replied, her voice adamant. "That's where I need to be. It's where I  _want_  to be."

It hit her like a ton of bricks how true that was now. Stepping back into Mystic Falls hadn't felt like coming home, like she had thought it might, making it harder to leave behind once her tasks were done. She didn't want to be in the town any longer. There were a lot of happy memories there, but deep inside she knew it was time for her to move on from the life she had there. Not leave it behind, not forget it because she never could forget where she'd come from, but it was time to take the next step, to open that new door and finally walk through it.

Matt nodded, knowing she wasn't going to be swayed otherwise from her tone. "Then I guess I'll just have to spend all the time I can with you while you're here," he told her, not really wanting to get into the part where she was obviously in some kind of relationship with Klaus. It didn't matter in that moment, not with everything else, and he figured he'd be kind of a huge hypocrite if he did considering he'd gone away with the intent of being with Rebekah for the summer.

"And you can visit!" Caroline pointed out, and set down the pillow. "I hope you visit because I think you'd have a lot of fun down there."

"Yeah, the whole war of the witches and vampires is certainly a selling point," Matt quipped, ducking when she threw the pillow at him.

It sailed across the room and would have hit Rebekah as she entered if not for her quick reflexes. "It seems the gossip mill has done its job and news of your mother's death has reached the town. I came back to a number of people coming this way with a variety of weird dishes."

"Ah, yeah, the funeral brigade," Caroline replied, throwing the covers off her body and rising from the bed. "They do this thing where they make weird casseroles that you can apparently live on for a month if you freeze them all or something."

"Mrs. Jacobs' lasagna one is actually really good," Matt informed them, getting out of the bed as well.

"You can have your pick of the casseroles," Caroline assured him, stopping in front of the mirror to take a look. She was a mess, but she figured that was par on course for having lost her mother, but she took the moment to wipe at her eyes, thankful she'd worn waterproof mascara and it seemed to be doing its job.

"I'll go let them in," Matt offered as the doorbell rang, a sure sign the group was at the door.

Rebekah watched Caroline fix her hair, not surprised by the girl trying to exert control over something she could actually change. She'd noticed it was a bit of a coping mechanism for Caroline, something all of them had to get through life, but it did seem to work for the other girl. "They don't expect you to look your best, you know," she commented, watching Caroline turn around with a sigh.

"Well, actually, they do," Caroline told her, looking over her shoulder at Rebekah for a moment. "Depends on if it's the older or younger faction right now. Older ones will offer sympathy and mean it. Some of the younger ones will, but they mostly seem to quietly snark to one another about how depressed and awful someone looks and how long it'll take for them to move onto their next husband. At least I won't have to listen to that part this time like when my dad died." Though she was certain there would be some conversations she'd rather not overhear.

She also knew that Rebekah was right and there was little point in continuing to polish herself up. "Thanks for getting Matt," she told Rebekah as she headed toward the door, ready to face the gathering of people who had known her mother.

"I figured you needed someone and I'd rather talk to him than try to broach the subject with Elena. I'm sure it'll reach her ears soon enough," Rebekah replied, heading toward the door as well. "Well, let's go get this over with. The sooner they drop off the food and say their sickeningly fake sorrys the sooner they'll leave and you can move to the next step of the grieving process. Getting drunk."

Caroline snorted at that, though she couldn't deny that it sounded like a pretty good idea after everything and what could it hurt to toast a few to her mother and the life she had lived?

* * *

Elijah had known bringing up Caroline and Rebekah's absence from the city would ruffle Klaus and perhaps it had been petty, but after having the fact he'd hoped for second chances with the baby endlessly ridiculed he'd wanted to strike out at his brother and make him feel as miserable as he had been. He wasn't perfect, no matter the exterior he tried to portray to the rest of the world, and while he did feel guilt over his inability to have helped his brother when they were younger and helpless against Mikael, that didn't mean he wouldn't purposefully cause the younger Hybrid pain at times.

It seemed to be a family trait to lash out at one another, to cause pain so that each of them would be unhappy at the same time, all wallowing in their own misery. He was tired of the cycle though, the constant picking at one another, the daggerings, the fighting, and wanted to get back to the camaraderie that they had once shared. Though perhaps he was seeing those times through rose tinted glasses, but Elijah knew that there had been happy times at some point. Before the paranoia had taken over, when they had been able to settle for a few years and actually enjoy life before the man they had all called father found them again.

The clock struck eight and Elijah wasn't surprised when Klaus came bursting out of his own private room, heading toward the door and barking for Elijah to follow. This wasn't the mood he needed his brother to be in to look into the council. It would only set everyone on edge and cause more bloodshed than was needed.

"She will return," Elijah stated, heading after him out the door.

Klaus didn't respond, taking to the streets as if he owned him. His stride was purposeful and the look he exuded deadly. The others on the street seemed to slink out of his way, to cross the street even though they wouldn't be able to explain exactly why they had felt the need to do so, and Elijah sighed, catching up to walk beside him. "And not just because she's needed here," he continued, motioning out to the street before them. "She cares for you. Anyone would be a fool not to see that."

Perhaps he hadn't spent as much time as Rebekah had in Klaus and Caroline's company, but he had seen the way the girl looked at his brother. Not like a fool in love as countless others had done so over the years, helplessly falling for his good looks and the charm he could exude before turning on each and every one of them. Not like those who had looked to him for protection or power, not even those who'd simply looked to him for a good time in bed. But truly, it was the way that Klaus seemed to regard Caroline that had Elijah believing the girl would return for his brother. He'd never seen Klaus look at anyone as an equal, never seen his brother  _treat_  anyone in that fashion and he had a feeling that the girl understood how significant it was that Klaus did so to her.

"I do not have time for your prattling nonsense right now, Elijah," Klaus informed him, undeterred from his own mood, his own dark thoughts plaguing him. Painting hadn't helped, nor had the fact that he kept considering calling Caroline, but refrained from doing so. The girls hadn't even been gone a full day and he didn't want her to think he was hounding her, that he was tightening the reigns when he had allowed her freedom that he knew she needed to have. He couldn't help the paranoia that had set in though, waiting for the inevitable phone call that she'd not be returning. Or for Rebekah to return alone, amused smile on her face at the fact that Klaus was alone all over again.

He  _needed_  to kill, to force this turmoil that was cutting through him onto someone else, and make them feel as awful as he was currently. He didn't care who, had almost considered lashing out at Elijah again, but figured him too easy a target and not enough to vent all of his building rage upon. He didn't truly need a reason, could have struck out at any of those who passed them by, but something tethered him back from doing so. Klaus knew that word would get back to Caroline and she wouldn't approve of him killing for no more reason than he wished to do so.

And that shouldn't have mattered to him, shouldn't have swayed him from turning on the first person he had passed and ripping out their heart, or tearing off a limb and watching the horror settle on their faces as he played with them before they died. To watch them run from him, hopeful they could escape, but never truly having the chance to get very far. He wanted to watch that hope die in their eyes, so easily snuffed out as they realized that he was Death and their time had come.

But he couldn't do it. If there was any way to truly push her away for good Klaus figured doing something like that would be it and he remembered her words,  _It's like you purposefully sabotage yourself,_  and he wouldn't in this case. Not as he had done countless times before. He'd just go looking for someone who deserved the death he so viciously wanted to dole out.

Elijah stopped walking, grabbing onto Klaus' arm, and Klaus turned, ready to strike, but stayed his hand at the cautious look on Elijah's face. "We're about a block away from the center and there's no one on the street," he murmured, low enough for just his brother to hear and Klaus cocked his head to the side, noticing the same interesting circumstances.

No one was on the street, not a light on in any building. And look at that, the streetlamps were burning out one by one. It seemed that he would be satisfying his taste for blood tonight. "Show yourselves," Klaus called out, stepping away from Elijah and throwing his hands up in the air at his sides as he turned around, trying to spot the witches responsible.

For who else would be foolish enough to make a stand against him now? He briefly wondered if it was Caroline's Coven who was coming for him now that she was out of town. Or was it some witches in the New Orleans group who hadn't listened to their warnings? Or perhaps new witches, wanting to make a mark for themselves.

Pain erupted simultaneously through both him and Elijah as they were forced across the street by an invisible wave that sent them crashing into a building, pinning them in place. "Do not think that I will not hesitate for a second to kill  _everyone that you love_ ," Klaus yelled, waiting for the perpetrators to show themselves.

Just as he had expected twelve witches walked forward, all of their hands raised toward the two Originals. Their eyes were white, no pupils showing and he could sense the power radiating off of them. "They're linked," Elijah muttered, unsurprised by the turn of events. It was the easiest way to provide more power to a witch, to give them enough to have a fighting chance.

Klaus wrestled against the pain that coursed through him. He wouldn't allow that to deter him from getting what he wanted, wouldn't allow them to even think they had a chance of beating him. "Your Harbinger is gone," one of them called out, the invisible field that held the brothers against the wall seeming to tighten. "And without her here nothing can stop us from getting rid of the two of you."

"You'll find that's not as easy as you seem to believe it to be," Klaus replied, deciding that one would die last, after he forced her to watch all the others fall.

"You'll also find that the Harbinger may be gone but that doesn't mean her word still isn't law," a voice called out from the darkness and Klaus watched as Caleb and the rest of the Coven stepped forward.

"You have no business here," the leader of the other group called out, her gaze never leaving the two brothers. "Balance can never happen as long as they're around. Vampires are not supposed to be on this Earth. They destroy the balance simply by existing."

She twisted her hand, causing the Originals' bodies to twist in impossible ways, breaking bones that immediately began healing before twisting her hand in the opposite direction, forcing the breaks to happen all over again.

"I give you one last warning to leave this place before we force your hand," Caleb warned, gritting his teeth as he watched the witch dole out more pain. He didn't particularly care if the Originals were hurt but he knew the witch was wrong. Destroying the vampires would rip apart the balance of the city. All three groups needed to coexist inside of it to a certain degree. If one element was gone then the remaining two would constantly be at war.

The witches didn't listen, continuing to force the Originals bodies to bend to their will, relishing in the pain and Caleb sighed. "You know what to do," he murmured to the others and they lifted their hands together, sending a pulsing blast at the group of witches that effectively unlinked them and the force of it caused them to fall backward.

As soon as the pulse hit them Klaus and Elijah were freed and Klaus didn't hesitate. He headed straight toward the group, utilizing his speed to rip out the hearts of the nearest two, crashing the heads of the next into the ground with a force that left them bloody and broken. He continued on, satisfying his need for blood, to destroy these would be upstarts from  _daring_  to try and harm him. To harm  _his family._

The Coven gasped once they saw what was happening, scrambling to come up with a way to subdue him. The violence that was happening before them through them all for a loop and Caleb shouted for Klaus to stop, trying to knock the Hybrid off his feet with another burst, but Klaus was too fast and came upon the last one, the leader he had every intention of making suffer.

"Congratulations," he grinned down at the young woman, pleased to see the fear in her eyes even though she tried to cover it up with defiance. "You've just sentenced your entire family to death." And there it was, that flicker of hope blinking out of existence as he ripped into her throat, wanting to suck her dry.

Caleb hit him them, knocking him away from her but it was too late for the witch. Klaus had purposefully bit into an artery and she would bleed out before any help could be offered. "We had it covered," the boy screamed and Klaus pushed himself up off the ground, wiping the blood from his mouth before licking his fingers.

"They knew the consequences of coming after me," Klaus reminded, feeling immensely satisfied with himself. "Do you honestly believe that if you had subdued them and allowed to leave that they wouldn't try this very same trick some other night? Or not come after you lot next?" He looked over at the boy, seeing the war that was running through the boy's mind in his conflicted features. No doubt he wanted to believe that, but Caleb had seen how his own Coven had nearly come undone at the seams. "They would never have stopped. And now they can't continue."

"We'll deal with the cleanup," Caleb told him, hating that it had happened this way but he also knew Klaus was right. Letting the witches go only meant they would try again and continue the strife that needed to end.

"I want to know who each of them are," Klaus pointed out, looking around at all of the fallen witches.

"Why?" Caleb asked as the other members of the Coven headed over to start collecting the bodies.

"They knew the consequences of going against me, of trying to break your bloody balance," Klaus told him, and Caleb shuddered at the dark smile that pulled at the Hybrid's lips.

"You can't fault their families for their mistake," Caleb protested, running a hand through his hair. God, when was Caroline returning? He had no clue how to deal with Klaus.

"Actually, I can. After all, they could have always stopped their loved ones from doing this," Klaus stated, looking entirely too pleased with the thought of more bloodshed. "I expect them by the morning, Caleb. Don't make me come and figure it out for myself."

He turned on his heel and headed for Elijah who had been watching the whole encounter, not surprised to find his brother frowning. "Let's go," Klaus ordered, already heading past the vampire and away from the scene.

"That's no way to win them over," Elijah started, and Klaus simply shrugged, refusing to allow his brother to knock him down from his current high. It was never his intention to win the Coven over anyway. As long as they protected Caroline he would allow their presence, but he didn't' care one bit if they liked him or not.

Caleb watched them go; pressing his fingers to his temples as he tried to figure out what their next step was going to be. "Are we really going to tell him?" one of the Coven asked, and Caleb looked up, seeing the worry on all of their faces.

"Let's just get the bodies to their families so they can bury them properly," Caleb instructed. He needed time to figure out what to do next. He knew he should call Caroline and inform her of all that had happened but he didn't want to bother her when she had just left town, when she was dealing with her mother's funeral. He also knew he might not have another option if he couldn't come up with something before the morning, but he'd put it off as long as he could and try to think of some way to stop the Original from killing any more witches.

* * *

"And that is the last of them," Matt sighed, shutting the door as the final neighbor left the house.

Caroline dropped down onto the couch, drained from the few hours of people constantly coming and going; the sympathy expressed, and didn't know how she was going to get through the next few days. She knew this was only the beginning. Mystic Falls wasn't a big town and everyone had known her mother, everyone would feel obligated to stop by and say something. And some would just want snoop, to try and learn what had happened, feed the gossip that was always whirling about.

"I'm gonna get going too, okay?" Matt continued, and Caroline looked over at him, nodding. "But call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Thanks, Matt," she told him, fully meaning it. Rebekah had stayed back during the constant comings and goings, not wanting to cause any more unneeded whispers about her appearance. So Matt had stayed at Caroline's side, offering her what support he could. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'm working a double, but stop on by?" he suggested and she nodded again, leaning back against the couch as he closed the door behind him.

Caroline kicked off her shoes, not at all surprised that Rebekah appeared then carrying two bottles of her mother's vodka stash. "You look like you could use this," Rebekah told her, shoving one into her hand as she sat down on the couch as well. "I'm quite happy I never had to go through that sort of nonsense. It seems incredibly tiring and rather annoying. Do you even know all of those people?"

"At least in passing," Caroline shrugged, unscrewing the top before taking a long drink, relishing the way it seemed to burn slightly as it slid down her throat. "But some of them I don't think I've said more than a hello to in like years." She turned her attention toward Rebekah, not really wanting to talk about herself any longer. It seemed to be all she had done for the afternoon. "You didn't have a funeral for your mother? The first time."

Couldn't really blame her for the second time considering everything that had happened back then. "No," Rebekah shook her head before downing her own sip. "Nik just had her in the box already and told us father did it. And like a fool I believed him. Though considering everything, I think we might all have been fools."

"Maybe," Caroline agreed, tucking her legs in under her as she shifted on the couch. "Why did you want to come with me?"

"Would you have preferred Elijah?" Rebekah asked, amused when Caroline snorted in answer. "I knew Elijah and Nik would need some time together to hash things out or whatever the saying is now. Not to mention there are some people I wanted to see."

"Like  _Matt_ ," Caroline teased, taking another drink and wondering how she'd managed to drink nearly half the bottle in such a short time.

Rebekah scoffed, flicking hair of her shoulder. "Perhaps," she admitted, peering over at Caroline. "Also April and maybe Stefan. Though he hasn't taken to returning any texts or voicemails."

Caroline snorted again. "Not just for you. He's not talking to me either." Which hadn't worried her too much before the Bonnie revelation, but now she was a little more wary of that. Maybe he had talked to his brother or Elena? Not that she really would understand why he'd talk to the two people who had hurt him instead of her but who knew…

There was a knock at the door and Caroline leaned back further on the couch, trying to get an angle where she could see who was there. "Just finish your drink," Rebekah told her, already rising. "I'll take the casserole and send them on their way."

Caroline lifted her bottle in thanks, but instead of returning with another dish, Rebekah strolled into the living room with Elena in tow. "Look who's showed up," she commented, grabbing her bottle from the floor and heading back toward the bedrooms. "I'll leave you two to chat."

"I just heard," Elena murmured, and Caroline set down her bottle, letting her friend sweep her into a hug. The tears were back in full force as she clung to Elena, happy for the familiarity of her friend's hug. "I'm so sorry, Care."

Caroline didn't respond, just sobbed harder as she held onto Elena. There was so much that she needed to tell her, but none of it mattered in that moment. None of it except one thing. "There's more, Elena," Caroline pulled back, not sure how to explain it, but she knew her friend needed to know as well. But how was she supposed to even start explaining what had happened to Bonnie?

"Hey, Blondie," Damon interrupted, walking into the house with Jeremy close on his heels. "We brought alcohol, but I see you already started without us."

He set the bottles down on the table, opening up one for himself. "To Liz," he started, and Caroline watched him, seeing real pain and regret in his expression, in his eyes. Her mom and Damon had been friends at one point, allies, and she knew he had seemed to truly respect her in some ways. "Damn good woman."

Jeremy and Elena picked up their own bottles, raising them as well, and Caroline followed suit. "And a damn good mom," she whispered, before taking her own drink. She had a feeling they wouldn't be leaving for a while and didn't want Rebekah drinking alone. "I'll be right back."

Caroline wasn't surprised when the boys made themselves comfortable, Damon sitting down by Elena and Jeremy taking up a seat on a lone chair. She headed back toward the bedrooms, arching an eyebrow when she found Rebekah on the phone. "...she's as fine as she can be right now," Rebekah sighed into it, rolling her eyes as she spotted Caroline. "In fact here she is now."

Rebekah held out her cell. "You talk to him. He's being insufferable and won't stop bothering me to report on how you're doing."

Caroline shook her head, motioning toward the living room. "Might as well join us. Damon brought more alcohol," she suggested, and Rebekah rose from the bed.

"That should make his company more tolerable," Rebekah pointed at the phone. "Don't let him keep you on there forever."

Caroline nodded and sat down on the bed, finally bringing the phone to her ear. "Klaus," she breathed out, trying to think of something more to say, but words didn't seem to want to work for her in that moment.

"Hello, sweetheart," he replied, and she lay down at the sound of his voice, letting it curl around her. "Do I want to know how Mystic Falls is treating you? No doubt enticing you already to stay."

His voice may have been light, trying to be passed off as teasing, but she could hear the undercurrent of worry in it. "It doesn't feel like home anymore," she admitted, reaching for her old teddy bear and held it close. It had been a Christmas present from her parents when she was five. "I don't really want to talk about it though."

"You sound tired, Caroline," Klaus told her, the worry deepening in his voice. "Do you need me to let you go so you can sleep?"

" _No_." She didn't want him to end the call, wanted to keep hearing him speak, finding comfort in his voice alone. "Just talk to me. How was your day? How's everything? Did you see Tabatha yet about what we talked about?"

"I'm seeing the wolves tomorrow," Klaus replied, and she heard him pause, knew he was trying to figure out what to say to her and she wondered what had happened while she was gone. She didn't really want to pursue that line of questioning but she knew that she needed to.

"What happened?" Caroline urged, hopeful that Rebekah would know to keep the others occupied and that Elena wouldn't try to come and find her just yet.

"Nothing to concern yourself with," Klaus told her, and she sighed. That meant that she  _did_  need to concern herself with whatever had occurred.

" _Klaus,_ " she prodded, and she could hear his own sigh, letting her know that he knew she wasn't about to drop this line of questioning.

"Elijah and I were attacked on our nightly stroll in the city," Klaus replied, and she closed her eyes at the news, waiting for him to continue because she knew it was more than just them being attacked. And while that fact alone angered her, she knew that she needed to hear the rest before saying anything. "Your Coven actually came and put a stop to the witches responsible for trying to break all of Elijah and my bones. And then I killed every last one of those who dared stand against me."

It didn't surprise her that the outcome had ended in death. Hadn't they warned the witches that such a thing would occur if they tried anything? "Okay," Caroline breathed out, pinching the bridge of her nose as she replayed all he said in her head. "And?"

Because she had a feeling that there was still more to come.

"I have Caleb and the Coven looking into the identities of the dead so that I can slaughter their families tomorrow as a reminder of what happens when any try to go against me," Klaus stated, and she heard his pause, waiting for her to reply.

She remembered the warning that had been given to the witches, that if they stepped against the balance of the city, against the Originals that they and their families would be punished. "Did their families know what they were planning?" she asked, and heard him sigh, clearly not liking her question.

"Caroline," Klaus started, and she could imagine how he was glowering, probably swirling a tumbler of scotch in his hand. "They knew the consequences."

"I know," she murmured, looking down at the teddy bear in her hands. "I just...I'm tired of death, Klaus." So many had died already, did there have to be more? Except she knew it was inevitable. They may have won the battle and maybe even the war, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be others. "Can't you just compel them to tell you if they knew and did nothing to stop it? Because then, sure, do what you need to do to snuff out the rebellion. But if they didn't know...they shouldn't pay for their parent's sins."

Klaus didn't reply and Caroline knew she had struck a nerve with that comment. After all, hadn't he paid all of his life for his mother's transgressions? "Kill those who deserve it, Klaus, but you know not all of them do," she continued, and he still didn't answer. She really didn't want to end the call on a bad note, not today. Not after everything.

"Want to hear something kind of funny? Well not really funny...just something?" she asked, her frown deepening when he still didn't respond. She could hear him on the other end of the line though, knew he hadn't hung up on her. "I miss you."

"Caroline," Klaus started, his voice strained and she could hear the barely contained anger in it, knew he was hurting from what she had said and while she hated herself for it, the comparison had needed to be said.

"I do," she murmured, the emotional chaos of the day seeming to catch up to her again and she wiped at her eyes, not wanting to cry again. "Tell me about Rome.  _Please._ "

Whatever he had been about to say died at the sound of her voice. He could hear the barely contained sob at the end of please. Somehow knew she was wiping at her face to try and calm herself down and while he desperately wanted to lash out for what she had said, Klaus couldn't. Not then. Not when he couldn't do what he wanted which was to take her in his arms and help her forget about all of her own pain. For her to be in their bed, wrapped tightly around him and not miles away where he could do nothing for her. Couldn't convince her that his way was right and while her intentions might have been good that it would only prolong the inevitable.

But that was a conversation for another day.

"What do you want to know, love?" he asked, the anger leaving his voice as he shut his eyes, once again wishing she wasn't so far away.

"Everything. Anything," Caroline whispered, turning on her side to try and get comfortable.

"I will take you there one day. I do hope you know that," Klaus reminded her, before starting to tell her about the city and it was like she could hear his smile as he regaled her with all he knew.

She wasn't sure how long she listened to him talk, but she knew she couldn't stay on the phone forever. The others were in the other room, could hear them as talking, and knew she had to rejoin them. "I have to go."

"I figured as much. Call me if you need anything, Caroline," Klaus instructed. "Even if it's simply to talk."

"That goes for you too, Klaus," she told him, and wondered if it might be a good idea to give him something productive to do that didn't involve killing. "Can you draw me something? I want a surprise to come home to."

"Of course," Klaus told her, sounding extra cheerful but she wasn't entirely sure why. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Alright, bye."

It wasn't until after she'd hung up that she even realized she'd called New Orleans home. Caroline shook her head, not wanting to think about that fact, and pushed herself off the bed so she could rejoin the others, handing Rebekah the phone as she sat down.

Caroline leaned against Elena as Damon continued to tell one his stories about her mother, actually managing a laugh when it was all finished, and accepting the squeeze that Elena gave to her hand before Jeremy started telling his own tale. She'd go into the rest of it with them tomorrow.

Tonight was reserved for the memory of Liz Forbes.

Everything else could wait.


	24. Chapter 24

_No one compares to you  
_ _I'm scared that you won't be waiting on the other side_

* * *

When sunlight started to peek in through the curtains the stories had come to an end and the group slowly parted ways. Jeremy had fallen asleep on the chair at some point, a blanket thrown over him, and still snoring away as the others moved, Rebekah heading off to shower and get rid of the residual hangover. Damon had stumbled off into the daylight wanting some time alone and Caroline had expected Elena to follow after him. It's what she usually did, or at least had in recent months ever since the Sire bond had taken effect, but to Caroline's surprise her friend had only watched her boyfriend go, shaking her head before turning back to face her.

"Pancakes?" Elena suggested, and Caroline could only nod because maybe that would help with the bitter aftertaste of tequila mixed with wine and vodka that she'd consumed.

"Except I don't think there's…" Caroline shrugged helplessly, glancing toward the kitchen. There hadn't really been anything in the cupboards. It seemed her mother had taken to take out as her meals of choice once she'd gone on her road trip.

"Want to do the diner?" Elena asked, her gaze traveling to Jeremy for a moment, no doubt wondering if she should wake him and see if he wanted to come too.

"Sure. Let me just tell Rebekah…" Caroline headed off toward the bathroom before Elena could answer, knocking on the door.

"Yes?" Rebekah's voice called out over the sound of the shower turning on.

"I'm gonna go with Elena to the diner." Should she ask if she wanted to come? Caroline wasn't sure what she was supposed to do in that moment. It'd probably be best if she filled Elena in on everything for Rebekah to not be around as well, but she didn't want to snub the Original who had been there for her over the last few days. Weeks really. "Do you…"

"I'd rather not be around her any more than I need to right now," Rebekah interrupted, and Caroline shook her head at that, knowing Elena could hear everything the other girl said as well. "Call if you need anything."

"Will do." Caroline turned around, watching Jeremy blearily blink awake, running a hand over his face to try and clear the sleep as she came back into the living room.

He was curiously watching her and seemed ready to ask her something, but hesitated, glancing at his sister for a moment before shutting his mouth. "We're gonna go to the diner for some breakfast," Elena told him, and the teenager nodded, pushing himself up off the couch.

"I'm gonna go back to the boarding house and get some real sleep. No offense, Caroline, but your chair kind of sucks," Jeremy told them, and Caroline shrugged as he left, leaving her alone with Elena.

"So pancakes," Caroline started, already heading toward the door. There was so much she needed to tell her friend and she didn't have a clue where to even start. It was different telling Elena everything than it had been telling Matt. Especially because Caroline hadn't even gotten into the whole Bonnie was dead part with him and she knew she needed to tell Elena.

Twenty minutes later and the two of them were sitting in the diner, drinking coffee as they waited for their orders to arrive. Caroline was already regretting coming out into the town from all of the looks of compassion and pity thrown her way. She could hear the hushed conversations about her loss, about her mother, and tried to block them out, annoyed with her enhanced hearing. She didn't even realize how frustrated she was growing until Elena leaned forward across the table to remove the spoon she'd been holding. It was twisted and bent and Caroline realized she'd been using a little too much strength on the object.

Caroline was grateful her friend didn't ask the usual 'how are you'; 'do you need anything', or countless other questions that people seemed so intent on asking her. The only thing she wanted or needed was her mother back alive, but that wasn't something that could happen. And Caroline knew that Elena understood that best of all after everyone she had ever lost.

"Mr. Kringle is the lawyer, right?" Elena asked instead, reshaping the spoon as best she could.

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. He was practically the only lawyer in their small town and everyone used him for the basics-including wills.

"He's good," Elena continued, placing the spoon back down on the table before reaching to sip her coffee. "Won't try and swindle you out of anything and won't be overbearing like some people can be. He'll just stick to business."

Caroline nodded again, not sure what to say to any of that. "Did you pick out an outfit yet?" Elena asked and glanced out the window they were seated by. "She's not...can it be an open casket?"

"Yeah, I did and it can," Caroline murmured, staring down at her own coffee cup. "He tore out her heart, but my...Coven patched her up and preserved her body before we came back here." She looked up then, watching Elena's eyes widen in surprise and then narrow in confusion, trying to understand what exactly she had said. "The former king of New Orleans thought killing her would be a good way to break me."

The waitress appeared with their plates then and Elena turned toward the young woman. "Can we get these to go?" she asked, smiling brightly as the waitress turned around to put their items in to-go containers. "I have a feeling we need to have this conversation somewhere else."

It was a good idea. While Caroline doubted anyone else was even able to listen into them considering how far they were seated away from the others, it really wasn't something she wanted to talk about in the diner. Ten minutes and one speedy journey later and the two were sitting out by the Falls, Styrofoam containers open before them as they munched on their pancakes.

"Marcel took her to try and break me because he thought breaking me would hurt Klaus," Caroline informed her friend, staring out at the water. "It didn't quite work out how he planned, but he's dead and so are pretty much all of the other vampires in the Quarter. And Klaus is now King. Which is a ridiculous term because we're in the freaking United States and we have a  _President_  but supernatural world is a whole different thing." She'd been learning that a little too well recently.

Elena blinked, trying to comprehend all that Caroline had been telling her about the war in New Orleans. Klaus as King of anything seemed like a horrible idea to her. "He'll be ruthless," Elena grumbled, spearing a piece of pancake. "Kill whenever he feels like it. Destroy that city in a matter of months." But at least he wouldn't be in Mystic Falls. At least he couldn't cause any more havoc for them.

"No, he won't," Caroline replied, unable to meet Elena's gaze. "Or, well, no, I'm sure he'll be ruthless because he is ruthless. But he won't destroy the city. I won't let him." Not to mention she knew Klaus didn't want to destroy it. He truly did love that city and all that it entailed. Not everything he touched crumbled at his feet. He could create beauty too, though she didn't expect Elena to know that. Not with the sides her friend had been privy to of the Hybrid.

"What do you mean you won't let him, Care?" Elena watched her closely, trying to understand. Realization dawned in her eyes and she shook her head, reaching for Caroline's hands. "You can't go back there. I know you got kind of dragged into that war, but it's not yours to fight. You already lost your mom. Now you're home and we can help you with that. It does kind of get...not really better, but you live again. You keep going." Elena squeezed Caroline's hands, urging her friend to look at her again. "We're going to do college, remember? And it's dangerous down there. _He's_  dangerous."

Caroline sighed; looking down at Elena's clasped in her own. "I'm not staying, Elena," she murmured, finally looking back at the girl. She pulled her hands away, motioning to the forest around them. "I don't belong here any longer. It's time for me to take the next step in my life."

"You're just thinking that because of your mom," Elena told her, shaking her head. "Walking away doesn't solve anything. You need to deal with it." She knew that better than anyone.

"I  _am_  dealing with it," Caroline replied, running her hands through her hair, frustrated. "I'm not walking away. I'm moving forward. There's a difference, 'lena." And it had taken her a long time to realize that there was one. "I'm needed in New Orleans. I want to be in New Orleans. My Coven is there. Klaus is there."

"Klaus is exactly why you shouldn't be there, Caroline!" Elena snapped, standing up, her own frustration growing. "Did you forget all that he's done to me? He killed me, Jenna, so many others. He hurt Stefan. He wants your boyfriend dead. He doesn't do anything but hurt people and you can't go back there. Have you lost your mind?"

"I know what he's done. I know what he's capable of, Elena." The bad and the good. She'd seen all of the sides to him-the ruthless bastard that killed without a thought to the caring part that held her tightly as she cried for her mother to the hurt masquerading as rage whenever he lashed out, wanting others to hurt as much as he did, to the charmer who used his words to get what he wanted, just as easily as forcing it out of people if his charm wasn't working. "But it's my decision."

"You can't do this, Caroline," Elena shook her head, staring down at Caroline who hadn't moved. "He's a monster."

"We've all monsters, Elena," Caroline murmured, looking up at her friend, knowing they would never come to an agreement about Klaus. And she couldn't blame Elena for that, not after all Klaus had done to the girl, but she wasn't about to be swayed either. "I have responsibilities now and those responsibilities need me to be in New Orleans, not here."

Caroline let the dark light surround her hands before Elena could speak again, watching her friend's astonishment at what she was doing. It didn't take long to fill her in on the rest of the story about Harbingers and her being the new one in the world, about how she needed to help keep the balance. "He's going to  _use_  you," Elena warned as soon as Caroline finished and Caroline sighed, trying to reel in her own frustration.

"I don't want to talk about Klaus with you," she started, so very done with that part of the conversation.

"I don't care because you need to get it through your grief stricken head how bad of an idea it is for you to have anything to do with him," Elena interrupted, and Caroline sighed again, letting her friend say her part. She knew Elena would keep trying to do so. "He'll use you, Caroline. He'll corrupt you and this newfound power that you apparently have. He probably knew about it from the get go. That's why he was so infatuated with you."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at that. "Because of course he couldn't have been infatuated because he actually fancied me," she muttered, annoyed by the implication. "Look. I'm not going to sit here and defend his actions because he's a smug bastard who did a lot of things because he had the power to do so and he freaking could. Because he likes to do what he wants, and get what he wants and damn the consequences for everyone else."

Except he hadn't been doing that in New Orleans...or well he  _had_ but he'd been taking others into account as well. Mostly because she wanted him to do so, but she'd seen the pride in his eyes when he'd looked at his pack. "This isn't about Klaus. It's about me and my choices, Elena. And my choice is to go back there and help keep the balance of that city."

"Your choice is to go back and help  _him_ ," Elena protested, unable to believe what Caroline was even saying. "How can you even think of helping him after everything he's done to all of us?"

"He helped us too. Without him we never would have been able to save Damon at graduation," Caroline reminded. Not that it made up for everything else. But it was true; Klaus had helped them out, given some of his blood to save the other vampire even though he'd had nothing to gain from it… except her respect and thanks. And maybe that had been why he had done it, she doubted it had been out of the goodness of his heart, but that had to mean something didn't it? Why was it okay for them to go to him for help, but not okay to help him out?

The double standards made her head hurt. Though it did seem that Elena was dropping that line of reasoning with her.

"What about college?" Elena asked, and Caroline shrugged. Maybe that had been a priority once and something she still wanted to accomplish, but it wasn't something Caroline was overly concerned about any longer.

"There are colleges there," she informed the other girl and maybe once the city was a little less chaotic she'd actually enroll.

"But we were supposed to live together. You, Bonnie and I," Elena murmured and Caroline's gaze dropped to the ground.

_Bonnie._  God, how did she even get into that part now?

"We were gonna shop for dorm things together. You wanted to do a whole theme, right? And you were picking out our classes so we could at least have some of them together," Elena continued, sitting back down by Caroline. "I don't want to do it without you."

Guilt started to pool in her stomach, twisting her insides and Caroline stared out at the water, not wanting to have this conversation but she knew that the longer she put it off the worse it would get. "You'll be okay, Elena," Caroline told her, glancing over at her friend and offering a small smile. "You have Damon. You have Jeremy. And you'll always have me. I'll just be a few states over is all."

It wasn't the end of the world. Not really. But it did feel like an ending and Caroline had never been all that fond of those. "There's something else, 'lena. Something I really don't want to tell you but I know I need to. You deserve to know it too."

"Please tell me it's not that you slept with Klaus," Elena grumbled, eyes widening at Caroline's hesitation.

"That isn't it," Caroline murmured, running her hands through her hair. Trying to ignore the betrayal she was pretty sure she saw in her friend's eyes. It was time to rip the bandaid off, no matter how much it was going to hurt.

"Bonnie's dead," she whispered, looking back up at Elena who was staring at her in disbelief. This wasn't how she wanted to tell Elena, but there was no point in sugar coating it, no making the fact their best friend was gone forever any better. "Apparently she died when she brought Jeremy back. It's why we never actually talk to her. We just get the texts and the emails. They all felt her die. My Coven."

"No she's not," Elena shook her head, unwilling to believe it. She was already losing Caroline. She couldn't lose Bonnie as well. And not because she brought back Jeremy. "She can't be dead…"

Caroline reached over to try and offer some comfort but Elena jolted back from her, standing quickly and nearly tripping over her own feet. She watched the emotions play across her friend's face-the denial, that overwhelming grief, and the guilt that Elena seemed to always shoulder.

" _No she's not._ " She took off at that, not able to handle anything else, intent on finding Damon.

"Elena!" Caroline shouted, nearly running off after her, but what was there to do, what was there to say?

She slumped forward a little, head dropping into her hands. There weren't any more tears to cry, just a numbness that seemed to want to swallow her whole, but she refused to allow that to happen. She'd need to talk to Elena again, make sure that her friend was as okay as she could be and there were a hundred more things to do in town before her and Rebekah could leave. Because that was what she wanted to do-to leave Mystic Falls as soon as she could.

Was Elena right? Was she just walking away from her problems? Caroline really didn't think that was what was happening. She was just finally allowing herself to open another door and walk through it. Mystic Falls wasn't where she needed to be any longer, she knew that much, and while she would miss her friends, Caroline knew that it was time for her to move on.

Plus like she'd told Matt, they could always visit. She just wasn't sure if any of them ever would.

* * *

The minutes ticked by as Caleb stared at the front door of the Mikaelson home. He'd been dreading coming to it since the night before, had nearly not done so, except he knew failing to report would cause more harm than good. He had the Coven to protect, the rest of the witches of New Orleans who hadn't had any of their family involved in the failed attempt on the brothers' lives the night before, but did that mean he sacrificed those who had family members involved to save the others? He didn't know what the right choice was and not for the first time since Caroline had gotten onto a plane with Rebekah he wished that she was there to help him out. She'd know how to calm Klaus' murderous intentions. Wouldn't she?

Caleb particularly didn't like the fact that he understood why Klaus wanted those who had members of their family involved to be dealt with. Hadn't he done something similar to his own Coven, stripping the usurpers of their powers before they ever had a chance to harm Caroline? Their continued presence in New Orleans, amongst the Coven, would have only poisoned the minds of the others and perhaps these families would do the same to the rest of the witches of New Orleans, destroying the tentative balance that was forming in the city.

He hadn't killed the Coven members, but perhaps some of them would have preferred death over the sentence he'd doled out to them, removing from them their basic nature. He sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he made his way up the steps, knowing there was little point in delaying the meeting. Some of the others had offered to tag along, but each had seemed relieved when he had told them he'd be fine on his own. None of them wanted to be in Klaus' presence if they could help it.

The door was answered almost immediately after he knocked, a man he didn't recognize opening it, watching him carefully. "Can I help you?" the man demanded, voice gruff and not at all welcoming.

Caleb was trying to place the aura that seemed to surround him, not at all surprised once he realized the man was a werewolf. Of course they would be answering Klaus' door. He supposed it was only a matter of time before they were doing the Hybrid's dry cleaning and other errands as well. "I'm here to see, Klaus."

"Name," the man stated, not budging an inch from the doorway.

"Caleb. I'm part of the Harbinger's…" he trailed off as the man stepped back, motioning for him to enter.

"You're on the list," the man informed him and Caleb entered, wondering what other changes had been set into place. "He's in the back and waiting for you. Fourth door on the right."

Caleb nodded, heading in that direction when it was obvious that the wolf wasn't going to say anything else, sitting down on a chair beside the door and picking up an iPad to entertain himself with. He wasn't expecting to hear classical music that seemed to get louder the closer he got to the door and he definitely wasn't expecting to open it only to find Klaus Mikaelson standing before an easel and painting away. He wasn't sure what the Hybrid was painting, but it was such a stark contrast to everything he'd seen, everything he knew about the Hybrid that he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Ah, Caleb," Klaus greeted, not bothering to look away from his work. He knew the witch's scent, had heard Jacob answer the door and the brief conversation between the two, and nearly stopped what he was doing, but the painting was nearly finished and he didn't want to break his concentration. "Do come in."

Caleb closed the door behind him, gulping when he took in the sight of a brunette woman sitting on one of the chairs, pressing a towel to her neck and smiling brightly at him. And just like that all the ill will he felt for the monster before him came crashing back down. "She's perfectly fine," Klaus told him, utterly pleased with himself over having not bled the girl dry, though the temptation had been rather great to do so. "She'll get some blood and be on her way in no time."

Caleb glared at his back, walking over to the girl who still smiled up at him, watching him curiously. "Are you hungry too?" she asked, and Caleb blanched, his stomach churning, not quite believing she had even asked him that.

"You compelled her, didn't you?" he demanded, looking back at Klaus.

"Contrary to popular belief I don't compel everything that I want out of humans," Klaus replied, adding another stroke of black before placing the palette and brush down and turning around. He walked over to the girl, biting into his wrist as he did so before pressing it to the girl's lips and allowing her a few drops to heal her wound. "Now off you go, Claudine. Be sure to thank Elijah for his gracious gift."

She'd satiated his need for blood, something Elijah seemed to realize he'd needed after getting off the phone with Caroline the night before. Though he hadn't managed to drain her dry, thoughts of Caroline's disapproval keeping that need at bay for the moment, and had simply drunk his fill, allowing her to heal before repeating the process in between working on the painting for Caroline. There were other needs that the girl seemed all too eager to try and help him with as well, but the thought of anyone aside from Caroline in his bed hadn't set well with Klaus and he'd quickly shut down the human's proposals.

"You'll find that New Orleans has all kinds in it, Caleb. More than enough who know of my kind and are willing to donate a helping of blood." The thrill seekers, those who were drawn to the allure of the supernatural but didn't truly understand the dangers that lay waiting in the shadows. Not so easily found in a small town like Mystic Falls, but the bigger cities where most vampires tended to make as their homes always had a bit of a following, and New Orleans had always been a hot spot for the supernatural.

Claudine was already rising, offering Klaus a smile. "Let me know if you ever need a repeat, hon," she drawled out, and Caleb wanted to throw up at her willingness to be a walking blood bag. He'd heard of people who were, but seeing and hearing it was throwing him for a loop.

"Does Caroline know you feed like this?" Caleb grumbled, watching the woman leave the room.

Klaus arched a brow at the question. He doubted his girl knew precisely how he fed considering she adhered to her bagged diet and had hardly ever left Mystic Falls or seen what the world truly had to offer, but he knew Caroline was aware that he didn't stick to such a thing, preferring blood directly from the vein. The other girl had simply been a meal, nothing more, and there would be plenty more like her to come. Men, women, it hardly mattered to him which as long as he was able to satiate his hunger.

"And how did your search go?" Klaus asked, steering the conversation in a new direction, one that he wanted to have. "No use trying to delay giving me their names any longer, Caleb."

"I found out who all of them were," Caleb replied, pulling out the list of names from his pocket. He stared at Klaus for a long moment, not wanting to part with the paper but not sure what he could even say to sway the Hybrid from his intentions.

"Good. Give the list to Elijah. He'll be speaking with each of them and learning who knew of the plan and who didn't. I want you to accompany him," Klaus informed him, already turning back to survey his painting. It still didn't seem quite finished to him but he was trying to figure out what exactly it needed.

"And if they didn't know?" Caleb asked, watching him closely. Did he even dare hope that they would be spared?

"Then they're free to live their lives," Klaus replied, watching the way the light hit the painting, trying to gauge the best angle for it. "Elijah can kill those who did have knowledge in whatever manner he deems appropriate."

Caleb cringed at that, certain the deaths would be painful, but considering the alternative to all of them dying he supposed it was the best case scenario. "Speaking of my brother," Klaus didn't turn around, but motioned to the doorway and Caleb glanced over his shoulder, spotting the older Original. "Caleb will be accompanying you. He has the list of families that you're to see."

"Tell me that the girl left here unharmed," Elijah stated, glancing around the room for any trace of Claudine.

"She did," Caleb muttered, though he wasn't sure that was the best definition of unharmed, but he supposed she would heal. He still questioned her mental soundness.

Klaus didn't respond but pressed his lips together in annoyance. And just like that all of the points Elijah had earned in his favor quickly disappeared. "Your faith in me is astounding."

"I have plenty of faith in you, Niklaus," Elijah informed him, sighing at the rigidity of Klaus' stance. "However, I also know precisely what you're capable of."

"Do you?" Klaus asked, looking over at him, his stare piercing. He was truly beginning to wonder if his brother did know all that he was capable of doing. Or if his brother only saw the parts that fit in with whatever version of him that Elijah felt he was dealing with for the day.

"Yes," Elijah replied, locking his gaze with Klaus', unwilling to be deterred in this instance. "I must say that it's nice to see you thinking ahead again and not giving into your anger and paranoia over the witches. No doubt Caroline's influence." Because it surely hadn't been his nor Rebekah's, no matter how they might have tried to do so.

Klaus narrowed his eyes, not liking the implication. It was on the tip of his tongue to revoke the mercy he was giving, for the two to go and kill the families regardless of their knowledge, but he forced his anger down, sealing it inside. Pity the next person who dared annoy him for they would receive the full brunt of his wrath.

Elijah nodded to him and left the room, clearly done with their conversation.

Caleb looked between the two before moving to follow the older Original. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew that he didn't want to be in the same room as Klaus any longer than necessary. Especially not when the Hybrid looked as though he'd burst from anger at any moment.

"Caleb," Klaus started, and the boy paused, wondering what else needed to be said. "Make sure to inform the witches that if this ever happens again, I don't care if they know or not, their blood will paint the streets. They might want to deal with their own lot from now on before there's none of them left to do magic." Which would suit him just fine. There were plenty of other witches in the world to do his bidding.

Caleb didn't bother answering, instead hurried out after Elijah, happy to be away from Klaus. Though once he caught up to the other Original he wasn't all that sure being with him was really a better option.

* * *

This was not how her life was supposed to turn out. Not how her damn plan was supposed to have happened. Klaus should be desiccated under water, his siblings scattered to the wind, and Katherine Pierce was supposed to be living free and happy, relishing in the Hybrid's failings. She'd planned it all out perfectly, had every piece in place, and even had a slew of alternatives to help her out in case anything went off kilter. How the hell was she supposed to factor in the damn baby vampire getting some new finagled power? Harbingers were supposed to be a myth, something murmured about in the supernatural world but she'd never met one personally.

And out of everyone in the world it just had to be little Caroline Forbes who was blessed with the gift. It wasn't fair. She never should have turned the girl in the first place or should have killed her long ago before she ever met Klaus and somehow caught his eye. She still didn't understand his infatuation with the girl, or the fact that she was still alive after how she spoke to him, how she had snubbed his advances for so long. Anyone else in her position would've died ages ago.

Katherine Ihated/I her and yet at the same time respected the girl. Caroline Forbes had survived quite a bit in her admittedly limited life, something Katherine knew all too well how to do, and she couldn't fault her for that. Only for interfering with her plans.

Her plans had failed in an almost spectacular manner, blowing up in her face before Katherine even knew what was happening. She'd gotten out of New Orleans only to be caught by an even bigger foe, someone she hadn't even known was still alive.

ISilas/I.

She stared across the room at him, trying to figure out what he wanted. She knew he needed the cure that ran through her veins, but did he need just a drop, all of it? And what happened to her if he drank it all? And what the hell was he waiting for if that was his plan?

"I can hear everything you think," Silas told her, not bothering to look her way as he glanced down at the books on the table, surveying the texts for confirmation of his theory. "And I have to say your thoughts run on and on and are terribly annoying. Yes, I'm going to kill you for your blood. No, it's not going to happen now. Why, it's not really your concern."

Katherine sneered at him, glancing around the room for any means of escape even though she knew there was none and that he'd be on her before she could even blink. "If you keep thinking about making a run for it I am going to break your legs and leave you writhing in pain, incapable of going anywhere but still capable of giving me what I want," Silas told her, shutting the book and finally turning to look over at the former vampire.

"Actually, I think I'll do that anyway. I have to step out for a bit and I can't trust you to stay put or not outfox anyone I have watch you. Always been a sly little girl, haven't you?"

Katherine cringed at his grin. There was nothing mirthful about it and as he walked toward her, she knew he was going to make good on his words. She'd have to wait until he left her to try and figure a way out because broken limbs or not, Katherine Pierce was not about to die without a fight. From his haunting laugh she had a feeling he'd read her thoughts about that and found them amusing which only strengthened her need to get out of her current situation. No matter what it took or who else suffered the consequences.

* * *

"The fact that you're still sitting out here leads me to believe that your time with Elena didn't go all that well," Rebekah surmised as she headed over to where Caroline was still sitting on the log. The other blonde shrugged, not turning around to look at her, but patted the space on the log beside her to show she wouldn't mind the company.

"I told her pretty much everything so no," Caroline mumbled, staring out at the Falls. The place had used to mean so many different things to her-it was the perfect party spot, also a decent make out one, and when alone it could be a pretty damn peaceful setting to gather one's thoughts-but all of the beauty of the place was lost on her. She was too involved in her own emotions, her own troubles, to really appreciate it any longer. "I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm either insane, going through the grieving process and will get over my desire to leave this town, and that I was lying about Bonnie being dead."

Maybe not so much the last one. It was probably more that her friend  _wished_  she had been lying about it and Caroline wanted it to not be true just as badly. There wasn't anything to do about Bonnie being dead though. Even her new powers couldn't bring back the girl.

"Why anyone would want to live in Mystic Falls longer than they needed is beyond me," Rebekah replied as she sat down beside her, looking down at the discarded pancakes.

"You didn't seem to hate it all that much a year ago," Caroline reminded. Or really a few months back. Rebekah had seemed very intent on staying then.

"That was before I realized how much this town is a hot spot for insanity. And I have nothing holding me here any longer. My siblings are gone. School is over and I'd rather start anew in somewhere with a bit more culture and better shopping opportunities." Rebekah shrugged, pleased when that earned an amused snort from Caroline. "Even the boutiques in this town don't offer the most attractive options. They're decent enough, but wait until you try shopping in Paris. Oh, or Milan. I think you would do quite well there. We could get you some decent outfits."

Caroline scoffed at that. "What's wrong with my outfits?" Though she did find herself anticipating the idea of shopping adventures with Rebekah and when in the world had that happened?

"They're not horrible, but don't worry, I'll have you dressed like the Queen you're apparently going to be," Rebekah told her, scrutinizing Caroline's hair. "Speaking of, your hair was much more stunning when it did that wave thing. You should go back to that."

Caroline snorted again, shaking her head at the conversation they were having, unable to believe it was even happening. "Technically, shouldn't you be Queen or whatever? The Originals are the ruling family of New Orleans." Sort of. At least it looked like it would be going that way if the balance continued.

Rebekah shuddered at the very idea. "And be saddled down with Nik longer than I have been? No thank you. I'd rather stake myself." Not that it would do much good unless it was white oak, but the meaning was still there. "If anything, I'm hopeful that this means I can make an honest go at having my own life. Without him throwing my lovers off roofs or killing them in other various manners. Or compelling them to forget me. Also a favorite of his."

Caroline cringed at that, not surprised by his tactics, but she could see why Rebekah was hoping for a change. She couldn't decide if having immortal siblings was a good or bad thing. It was probably both. At least there was someone else who loved you out there, who understood what you were going through to a degree, but at the same time an eternity of sibling squabbles, of the daggerings and everything else had to be tiring. Even looking at the Salvatore brothers-hundreds of years alive and sure they loved one another, but some of the things they managed to do to one another was crazy and they hadn't been on the run, not like the Mikaelsons were for a good deal of their time.

Would it be different now that there was no more running, now that they had a place they could call home without constantly looking over their shoulders and waiting for Mikael to come along and ruin it all? Caroline hoped it would, but she had a feeling that all of the betrayals, the paranoia that had built up over the last thousand years, even the way they dealt with one another at times might be a hindrance. It already was if she was honest with herself, but with time she thought that maybe their relationships could improve again.

"It's just convincing my brother that I'm not  _abandoning him_  so that he doesn't act like a fool and dagger me before I can manage to actually get anywhere that seems to be the hold up now," Rebekah continued, and Caroline arched a brow at the imploring look Rebekah was directing her way. "I thought that you might be able to help me with that."

"What makes you think I can help with that or that he'll even listen to me?" Caroline wasn't sure Klaus would listen to reason if he thought his siblings were abandoning him. As annoyed as they could make him, as much as he might rage against them, she had learned that he wanted them around him. As much as the daggerings had been a sort of punishment for the others, she knew they had also been his way of keeping them close, where he could ensure their safety.

Rebekah scoffed, rolling her eyes for added measure. "He is practically wrapped around your finger, Caroline. If anyone has a chance of reasoning with him and getting out alive and undaggered, it's you."

Caroline was ready to protest that, but between Rebekah's pointed look and her own subconscious she knew the other girl was right. She had the best chance of anyone and Rebekah being allowed to have a life, to see the world without the shadows of her brother was something Caroline could see the other girl not only wanted but probably needed so she didn't have a problem trying to help her out.

"I'll talk to him when we get back," Caroline told her, pushing herself up. There was no point in remaining at the Falls. Too much left to be accomplished and she'd wasted enough of the day hanging out alone and contemplating the world.

The two turned to leave, stopping when they spotted Stefan walking through the forest. "Stefan?" Rebekah stopped walking, unsure how happy the vampire would be to see her. Their relationship had always been complicated and the fact he'd been tricking her for the most of the last year didn't exactly endear him to her, even if her heart still leapt at the sight of him.

Caroline was practically beaming, so happy to see her friend alive and unharmed. She'd been so afraid that some awful fate had met him as well after not hearing from him since graduation. But there he was, in the flesh and as alive as they ever were and she started running toward him, wanting nothing more than to hug him tight. A coldness she'd never quite felt before swept through her body as she moved toward him and she stopped mere feet away, staring at him.

Something was  _wrong_. She didn't know why, didn't know what exactly, but her body seemed to be protesting his existence. Every nerve ending seeming to scream the nearer she got to him and she took a step backward.

"Hey, Care," Stefan greeted, walking toward her and his smile wasn't quite right. She didn't know what it was. That was his face. Those were his lips but it wasn't Stefan's smile. And those eyes. They weren't his either.

Caroline let the white light surround her, motioning for Rebekah to stay back as she watched the imposter, wondering who it was, wondering what was happening. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded, and she blinked, an invisible pressure against her head that didn't hurt, but she didn't like it, wanted it to stop. "I'm not going to ask again." She held up her hand, ready to send a wave of light at the imposter.

"I see my little walking cure wasn't lying when she told me you were the new Harbinger," he replied, his smile turning into an unpleasant smirk.

Rebekah moved to stand behind her, an unsettling feeling filling her as well and she wanted nothing more than to get the two of them out of the woods and away from the not quite stranger. "I must say," he continued, and took a step forward. Caroline narrowed her eyes, sending out white light at his feet in warning, thankful when he didn't move again. "I didn't think you capable of such potential back when we first met. Just a little baby vampire trying to suppress her own urges, but considering the company you now keep I'm thinking you finally got those feathers ruffled."

" _Silas_." She remembered their encounter all too well, how he'd looked into her mind and turned her fantasies into horrors, taken her nightmares and tried to make them reality. But she'd saved her mother then and Liz Forbes couldn't be used against her any longer. She felt Rebekah tense behind her, neither of them certain how this would play out, but considering the last time he'd messed with them he'd definitely had the upper hand Caroline wondered what they could do to him.

"Very good, Caroline," Silas said and took another step forward.

Caroline hissed and this time zapped him with some light, noting that he seemed to cringe as it hit him before the not-so pleasant smile was back. "What the hell do you want?" And where the hell was Stefan if Silas was going around with his face? That couldn't be good, could it? Wasn't Stefan supposed to have gotten rid of his petrified body? And how was he no longer stone anyway?

Bonnie.

Bonnie was dead.

Did that mean the spell had broken as well? She looked back at Silas, hating that he looked like one of her best friends, and knew that must have been the case. He must also have wanted the same thing, to destroy the damn Other Side, drink the stupid cure, and be reunited with his lost love.

"Same thing I've wanted since the beginning," Silas told her, and Caroline mentally high fived herself for her correct assessment. "I have the cure-well, I will once I drain Katherine dry but no point in that just yet-but I still need the veil dropped and unfortunately the witch I had for that is dead."

Caroline wasn't sure what the hell any of that had to do with her. Except for the fact that it wasn't allowed to happen. Dropping the veil and destroying the Other Side would create a horrible imbalance that she couldn't allow to happen and considering Silas seemed to know what a Harbinger was then he had to know she'd be opposed to it. "But you do," Silas continued. "The Harbinger's little Coven has the power to do it. I'd have gone straight for them and bent them to my will. They wouldn't have the mental capacity to keep me out of their head, not like your new powers grant you." He shrugged, looking more annoyed than anything. "Unfortunately they can't access that level of power unless you authorize it and my mind manipulation can't mimic your orders. But I can get you to tell them what I need and get them to do it."

"Never going to happen," Caroline replied, keeping the light around her hands and never taking her eyes off the immortal.

Rebekah suddenly feel to her knees, screaming in pain, and Caroline flinched, wanting to turn around and help the girl but she knew she couldn't stop looking at him, couldn't give him an opportunity to attack her. "I may not be able to get into your head any longer, but I will make every single person that you care for suffer until you do what I want, little girl," Silas informed her, looking behind her at the screaming Original and Rebekah's cries intensified. "I do not care how many die. How many endure pain. Not after all I went through for so long. Let them know a fraction of my pain."

_Seriously?_  What was up with immortals wanting others to know what they had endured? A crappy experience did not mean they got to just go around doing whatever they wanted for their own benefit!

"Drive the wood into your chest, Rebekah," he demanded, twisted smile on his face as he watched the Original do as he asked, picking up a stick from the ground and forcing it through her body.

" _No,"_  Caroline shrieked, remembering how she'd been forced to cut herself because of him and she wouldn't allow him to keep hurting Rebekah. "You don't get to destroy the world just so you can be with the person you love." Caroline growled, and pushed light at him then. She was no longer trying to hit his feet, but sending it straight at his body, as much as she could get out at once.

Silas stepped back, nearly doubling over in pain when it hit him and the concentration he'd used to hurt Rebekah seemed to break as the girl's screams had ceased. Caroline could see that he was already beginning to heal and would no doubt be ready to continue to mentally torture Rebekah who was panting on the ground beside her in a matter of seconds. Caroline grabbed the girl and flashed off with her, not sure where to go but needing to put as much distance between the two of them as possible.

She stopped at the Lockwood mansion, now Matt's home, and helped Rebekah get inside as she called out for Matt. The former Quarterback came rushing down the stairs, eyes widening when he saw how drained Rebekah seemed, wood sticking out of her chest. "What happened?" he asked, helping Caroline move her to a couch.

"I just need a minute," Rebekah assured the two of them, cringing as she pulled the stick out and dropped it to the floor. It didn't take long for it to heal, but Caroline had a feeling it was whatever he had done mentally that had her upset more than anything.

"It was Silas," Caroline murmured, remembering that he'd been able to get into her own house. Had her mother invited him in? Was that what happened? She wasn't sure. "Matt don't let anyone in. Don't give any invitations. Just don't even open the door. Let me do it." Maybe it wouldn't do them any good and he didn't need the invite, but at least he couldn't hide who he was from her, even if it still made no sense to her why he had looked like Stefan.

_Stefan._

Where the hell was he if Silas was out there looking like him? And what were they supposed to do about the immortal monster who could manipulate nearly anyone to do what he wanted? She needed to warn Elena and the others. Needed to call Caleb and see if he knew anything. Needed to call Klaus and warn him as well.

Caroline looked back at Rebekah, watching the girl slowly regain her strength and composure and knew that the girl had been right. Nothing good ever seemed to happen in Mystic Falls.

"Matt, call Elena and the others and warn them that he's still around and that he's pretty much back to his old tricks. They need to be on high alert." Matt nodded, fishing his cell out of his pocket and turned away to start making calls. "Rebekah, I need you to call Klaus."

"I think he'd much rather hear from you," Rebekah pointed out, but was already pulling out her phone as well.

"I know, but I need to alert my Coven and get them to start researching. I'll talk to him when I'm done," Caroline replied, turning away to make her own call. "And then we need to figure out what the hell happened to Stefan."


	25. Chapter 25

_The age of man is over  
_ _A darkness comes at dawn  
_ _These lessons that we've learned here  
_ _Have only just begun_

* * *

Caroline stared out at the lake, wondering how exactly her and Rebekah were supposed to find the safe inside of it and how they'd be dragging it out of the water. From the incredulous look Rebekah was directing her; she knew the other girl had deduced her unspoken questions. "We're  _vampires_ , Caroline," Rebekah reminded, already wading into the water.

As much as Caroline had adapted well to being one, it still took her by surprise at times. She figured that was because she'd clung so tightly to her human ways for so long, going to school, eating food, keeping up with her routines. Hell, when she'd been attacked by Alaric she hadn't even thought of flashing out of the school and to safety, she'd gone to her car, dropping her keys and gotten herself caught. She knew it was a mindset thing and one she needed to alter, though part of Caroline didn't want to alter it too much, worried that doing so would change her.

But then again, wasn't growing up all about change? She may have been stuck looking seventeen forever, but that didn't mean her mindset would stick to that year. Her desires, her needs had changed and so would so much more about her, but that wouldn't change the core of her who she was.

Caroline shook her head, not wanting to think about any of that, her focus needing to be on finding the safe and hoping it was the key to locating Stefan. If Silas was out there still and Stefan was the last person to see him-and that had to be why he was wearing his face, right?-then that meant Silas had disposed of him in the watery grave they had meant for him. Hopefully without a stake through his heart. Not that drowning repeatedly for the last six weeks seemed like that much of a better alternative.

She hadn't given Damon time to ask questions after getting him to disclose where Stefan was going to drop the body off, not wanting to go into the argument he was ready to start over telling Elena about Bonnie as well as her own relationship with the Original. Caroline had gotten the location and hung up on him, reminding Matt not to let anyone inside and that Jeremy would be accompanying Elena and Damon over. Hopefully Silas couldn't make him see three people instead of one.

"I think I see it," Rebekah murmured, pointing off toward one of the cliffs and Caroline turned that way, ducking into the water and blinked as her vision adjusted to the darkness. She spotted the box in the distance and popped back up, nodding. Rebekah placed a hand on her arm, stopping the other girl from heading off. "You need to remember that he'll have been without any form of blood for weeks now and if he is alive he'll have been drowning. Dying over and over again."

"I know," Caroline replied, hating the very thought of that.

"We have no idea what his state of mind will be," Rebekah reminded, and Caroline could only nod, sharing the same worry with the other girl over how volatile Stefan might be once they opened the lid.

Without another word they swam to where the object was and worked together to pull the safe out of the water and onto one of the rocky banks. They were drenched by the time they'd gotten out and glanced at one another before looking down at the safe. Rebekah moved forward, ripping the door off by its hinges. Stefan lay inside, his skin greying but there wasn't any wood protruding from his chest and that had to be a good thing. Tilting the safe, the two let the remaining water pour out of the coffin, waiting to see what would happen, how long it would take for the vampire to wake up.

Stefan's eyes opened seconds later and he gasped frantically for air, thrashing in the safe, no doubt expecting to start drowning all over again. Air met his lungs instead of water though and the panic that rippled through him turned to confusion as he tried to make sense of the world around him. His eyes widened and narrowed as the sunlight hit him, something he hadn't experienced in far too long. His hearing was overloading, too many sounds all slamming into him at once-from the soft breeze, to the cars miles away, to the animals scurrying in the distance. He clawed at the safe around him, trying to make sense of the world, his vision still coming into focus.

"Stefan?" Caroline breathed out, unsure what to do, what to say now that they had found him.

His attention turned toward her voice, locking his gaze with hers. She offered a small reassuring smile, but wasn't sure if he even noticed it. And then his fangs elongated, veins in his face puffing out to the surface as his eyes darkened. In a flash he was out of his watery coffin and gone.

Caroline looked over at Rebekah, confused as to what had happened. Rebekah sniffed the air. "Blood," she muttered, and Caroline mimicked her, sniffing as well, and sure enough, the smell of fresh blood was being carried by the summer breeze.

"Damn it," Caroline groaned, pushing herself up off the ground where she'd been kneeling beside the safe. "We have to get to him." Because Stefan and human blood could potentially lead to down a very dark path.

"He needs to heal, Caroline," Rebekah pointed out, rising as well. "And animal blood will take forever to make that happen. He needs human blood."

Then he could have some blood bags because newly awakened Stefan might not care if he bled a human dry in order to heal, but Caroline had a feeling that her friend would care once he came to his senses and Stefan didn't need any more guilt on his shoulders. She also didn't like the idea of Silas finding him first and what could happen then. Caroline took off after Stefan, hearing Rebekah do the same and worried what they might see when they finally found him.

Stefan had found a hiker who had scraped his arms and knees after tumbling down one of the trails and was currently feeding from the young man. The man looked at the two of them, terror clearly written on his face, eyes seeming to plead for help as the life was drained out of him. "Stefan  _stop_!" Caroline yelled, trying to push her friend off of the man.

Thankfully he wasn't back up to his usual strength and Caroline was easily able to push him away, sending him back into one of the trees and pulling the terrified man away. She ripped at the man's shirt and pressed the fabric to his wound before ripping into her wrist and pressing it to his mouth, forcing the blood down to heal him. She then locked her gaze with his. "You got disoriented on your hike, but you're okay now. You didn't see anyone else out here. You're going to go home and go out with your friends tonight and have a great time. Buy the first round of drinks."

The man murmured back the words as her own wrist healed and she watched his wounds do the same. Rebekah was holding down Stefan, forcing him to remain where he was against the tree as the man rose to his feet and headed back down the path. Stefan growled, snapping at Rebekah and trying to push her off of him. His thirst wasn't satisfied, the veins around his eyes still showing and his fangs still out. Rebekah tried to appear bored, hardly caring about his attempts to shake her off of him considering how much stronger she was than him, but Caroline could see the worry in the girl's eyes.

"Do you remember what you told me?" Caroline asked, walking over to the two. "In the bathroom after I became a vampire?" Stefan stopped snapping, stopped his thrashing and focused on her. "No matter how good it feels you'll fight it off, Stefan, that blood rush that wants to claim power over us." She mimicked the breathing he'd shown her, cupping his face in her hands like he had done to her over a year ago. "Bury it."

Stefan closed his eyes, repeating the same motion and both girls felt him relax in their grips. The veins melted away, his fangs ascended and he kept on breathing. "Caroline," Stefan finally whispered looking back at her as Rebekah released him completely. Caroline moved forward, hugging him hard and trying to keep back the tears over what he must have been going through.

He clung back to her; burying his face in her shoulder as he tried to push back all of the memories that were threatening to overpower him. Panic wanted to grip hold of him and never let go. "Silas," Stefan started, remembering why he'd been in the water in the first place.

"We already know," Rebekah replied, and he glanced over at the other vampire as he still held onto Caroline, offering as much comfort to her as he was taking. "And we need to get out of these woods before he decides to come out and play with us all over again."

"She's right, we do," Caroline stepped back from Stefan, looking him over once. "There's so much to tell you and Matt has blood bags so you can keep working on regaining your strength." Preferably without killing anyone.

Stefan nodded, at a loss for what to say, what to do. He had so many questions. Like how long he had been down in the water and why was it that Rebekah and Caroline had been the ones to find him. And since when were the two of them this civil to one another? But all of them could wait until they were out of the woods and hopefully as far from the crazy immortal that Stefan had a feeling was watching their every move.

* * *

To say that Klaus had been unsettled after Rebekah's phone call was a bit of an understatement. Silas was an enemy he had thought buried and done with, a being who wouldn't pose any sort of problem to him any longer. Part of him wanted to say to hell with the immortal, let him drop the bloody veil and get what he wanted so long as he didn't have to endure the torment of Silas in his mind again, twisting everything and causing pain Klaus had no intention of enduring ever again. It'd been on the tip of his tongue to order Rebekah and Caroline to return, ready to head to the miserable town to forcefully remove them from the situation if need be, but then Rebekah had filled him in on everything. How Silas apparently needed the Harbinger in order to accomplish his task.

The part of Klaus that was solely focused on his own survival wanted to cut his losses and turn his back on Caroline, to let her face whatever horrors the immortal had for her by her lonesome. But that part was quickly squashed, pulled out of his chest and torn into pieces before it could take root. The mere thought of leaving her to face that monster had him shaking, his hybrid features coming to the forefront, and the need to kill, to rip someone to shreds for even daring to look at her, let alone  _threaten her_.

He'd left Elijah and key members of his pack to take care of the witches, calling in on a few favors he was owed by other witches-utilizing whatever threats or playing into their own need for the knowledge he held in his mother's grimoires or those of other witches he'd slayed through the ages to get them to come and do his bidding. He didn't trust the New Orleans witches, not after the attempt on his and Elijah's life only days before, and needed others that he believed he could rely on to look after the city until his return.

Klaus had thought of leaving it in the hands of Caroline's Coven. After all they would do everything in their power to keep up the precarious balance, but it seemed they would be accompanying him to Mystic Falls, whether Caroline approved of their travel or not. And he knew she didn't, that she'd want them as far out of the line of fire considering Silas needed them, but as her Coven they couldn't let her go unprotected when they knew she was facing a threat like Silas.

It'd have been easy enough for him to have run to Mystic Falls, but he'd commandeered a private plane and gotten himself and the Coven to the town in about six hours. Klaus had never been one to stray from using compulsion when it suited him and this was an instance where it did. They headed straight to the former Lockwood mansion, the apparent base of operations, and Klaus couldn't help but feel a bit rankled about that fact. He didn't like associating Caroline with anything that had to do with her former boyfriend, no matter how insignificant Tyler was now to her life.

"Didn't think you'd actually come back here," Damon greeted from the steps, watching the line of people exit the van Klaus had gotten for the ride into town, before looking at the Hybrid. "Heard you went and made yourself King. Delusions of grandeur are one of the top signs of insanity."

Klaus ignored him, not really caring to chat with the annoying Salvatore brother. If he had to speak with one of them he'd prefer Stefan, wherever his former friend might be. He walked up the stairs, following after the Coven and sneered when he smacked into an invisible wall. He'd forgotten that Tyler had transferred ownership over to the bartender.

"That had to hurt," Damon grinned, enjoying the moment as he stood behind the invisible barrier.

Matt came running toward the door, offering to help with the luggage, but stopped when he saw Klaus and Damon. He grimaced, not wanting to offer the invite, wanting the Original to be as far away from all of them as possible, but Matt knew that wouldn't happen. He also knew that made him a bit of a hypocrite considering Rebekah was allowed inside. "You can come in," he told Klaus, and then turned away to help one of the witches with their things. Just because he invited him in didn't mean he had to spend time in the Original's company.

"Oh come on, Matt," Damon drawled, shaking his head in disgust as Klaus stepped over the threshold. "You could have at least made him beg for it. Had a little fun with him being all helpless out there while we're all safe and cozy in here."

Klaus had Damon pushed up against the wall, hand locked around his throat, crushing his windpipe as he glared at the younger vampire. "I'm failing to see what use you have for any of us right now, Damon," he informed the boy, smiling at him as his grip tightened, other hand moving to press against the vampire's chest, fingers digging through the fabric and into his skin. "I think I'd do the world a favor if I ripped your heart out now. Would anyone really weep for your demise?"

Damon glowered back, trying to come up with a witty retort. "Stop it!" Elena yelled as she headed toward them, grabbing onto Klaus' arm to try and get him away from her boyfriend. Klaus ignored the girl, knowing it'd be easy enough for him to send her flying across the hallway, but she was Caroline's best friend and Caroline would probably not appreciate him doing so.

"Except for Elena, of course. But perhaps once you're dead and the Sire bond broken, she'll come to her senses," Klaus continued, though he doubted his own words. Damon's death would probably only send the girl into an amusing downward spiral and really, wasn't that enough reason to carry through with his threat?

"Seriously?" Caroline groaned as she headed toward the door to see what all the commotion was about. "You're not even here two seconds and you're already threatening Damon?"

Klaus couldn't help but grin at her voice, that trademark 'seriously' wrapping its way around his heart and soothing his worry about her for a moment. He could imagine the annoyance in her features, the way her nose scrunched up when she was mad at him, not happy with the actions he was choosing to do, and he released his hold on Damon, stepping away from him and the Doppelganger before turning to see Caroline. She rolled her eyes at his appreciative stare, and his smile only widened, amused that he'd been right in his assessment of how she'd look.

"Hello, sweetheart," Klaus greeted, walking over to her in quick strides, ignoring the mutterings of the other two as he looked Caroline over, needing to know for himself that she was alright. He knew burying her mother was going to take a toll on her and the Silas business would only add to that weight already on her shoulders.

"Don't you sweetheart me," Caroline grumbled, hands on her hips as she glanced back toward where her Coven was setting up their books. "I thought I made it clear that I wanted them to stay behind in New Orleans." If they were there then Silas had less of a chance of being able to use them. Now that they were in the same town as her, Caroline worried what the immortal might do to try and force her hand.

"Considering you don't want me compelling Caleb or the rest of them, nor am I allowed my other preferred means of restraint with them, you tied my hands a bit on forcing them to stay behind, Caroline," Klaus pointed out, reaching out to touch her curls, sliding the strand of hair between his fingers. He could see that she was tired, no doubt she'd been looking out for everyone but herself, and while vampires might not have needed sleep like humans did, they did need a time to rest, to relax, and he had a feeling she hadn't done either of those things since coming back to Mystic Falls.

Caroline huffed at that, turning back to look at him. She could see Damon and Elena over his shoulder, watching the two of them, their disapproval clearly written on their faces, and she nearly allowed that to keep her distancing herself from Klaus. But Caroline had  _missed_ him, had wanting nothing more than to curl up in his arms far more times than she could count in the last few days, and now that he was standing there in front of her, she wasn't about to allow her friends' looks to stop her from doing so. She stepped forward, hugging Klaus tightly as she pressed her forehead against his chest.

Klaus didn't react right away, startled by the action. He'd been certain Caroline would have wanted to be discreet, not sure what she had told the others about the two of them. That nagging doubt in the back of his mind wondered at times if there even was a two of them. It hadn't exactly been discussed before she'd left and while he clearly considered her to be his, to be his Queen, and that her place was by his side, Klaus wasn't sure what she thought of everything. He had worried that she wouldn't be returning to him, and all he'd have were memories of her in his bed, of her in his city and by his side for a few fleeting weeks and that those instances would haunt him until the end of time.

He wrapped his arms around her, unused to this sort of contact, uncertain precisely where to put his hands. Seduction he could do, it was almost second nature after so many years of using it to his advantage, but comfort was a foreign concept to him. One he hadn't doled out to anyone in so long and while he'd done it for Caroline a few times in the last few weeks, it was still something Klaus was learning how to do. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, threading his fingers through her hair as his other arm looped around her waist, holding her close.

Damon and Elena left the entryway and while Caroline heard their muttered distaste, she simply didn't care, focused on the comforting grip of Klaus' arms, on the Hybrid's scent that had somehow become something so familiar to her, something that alternated between soothing her and turning her on in seconds. "I am so in over my head," she mumbled, closing her eyes as she breathed him in, trying to take in some of the strength he seemed to silently offer. "It looked like I could hurt him some though. But he heals so quickly that I don't think it'd be fatal." Not while he was immortal at least. "And he has Katherine somewhere."

"The cure is running through her veins. He needs it to become mortal," Klaus mused, remembering Silas' need for the cure only months before. Caroline nodded against him, sighing as she stepped back. He reluctantly let her go, watching her carefully as she smoothed her shirt down, trying to get the new wrinkles out.

"Yeah. Mortal after the veil is down and destroyed and then he can die and be with his love in the afterlife," Caroline grumbled, shaking her head at the notion. If it didn't mean the destruction of pretty much everything they knew maybe it would have been a bit romantic. But considering how many would end up dying or having their own immortal afterlife disturbed for one man, Caroline was failing to have sympathy for Silas.

"No killing Elena or Damon," she told him, pointing her finger at Klaus and narrowing her eyes as she watched him. "Or Matt. Or Stefan. Or Jeremy-though you wouldn't want to with him anyway because he's still a Hunter."

"So you did find Stefan?" Klaus asked, ignoring the rest of what she'd said. He would make no promises on not disposing of any of the others if it kept Caroline, himself or Rebekah safe. The others were collateral damage to be used as needed. "He didn't meet the same end as Bonnie then."

Caroline cringed at the implication, knowing he didn't mean to sound callous about it, more so that he simply didn't care about her friend's death outside of how it had hurt her. Not to mention what had actually happened with Stefan… "Apparently Silas put Stefan in the watery grave we had planned to be his. Stefan's been drowning for the last six weeks. Bekah and I found him earlier today and got him out." She looked away, toward the room where Stefan was resting, drinking his fill of blood bags and trying to not lose it.

Klaus followed her gaze, noting the direction he surmised the other Salvatore to be located. "From your dreary expression I'd wager he's having a hard time adjusting to being outside of the case." No doubt Stefan had been confused like Klaus' siblings usually were after their daggers were removed. Except their death happened once, not repeatedly waking from death only to deal with the horror of it all over again on repeat for an unknown length of time. Klaus wondered just how mad that had made the former Ripper and if that side he enjoyed so much in the vampire would come out to play again.

Caroline nodded, sighing as she looked back at Klaus. "Yeah. So let's go strategize. Because I have a will reading to do in an hour and I'd like to get as much done as possible before then."

Klaus wasn't surprised at all that she was still working through her mother's affairs even with the threat of Silas looming on the corner. Caroline Forbes had probably been multitasking in her mother's womb and no matter how difficult the circumstances became, Klaus had a feeling that was something she would continue to do until there were no more tasks to complete. He followed after her, unable to help wondering if there would be colored index cards on the walls this time as well.

* * *

Rebekah dropped another blood bag down in front of Stefan. Perhaps they weren't the best source considering any human blood could trigger his Ripper side-not that she minded that side, after all she'd been attracted to it back in the 1920's-but after drowning repeatedly for so many weeks he needed to feed. He needed to heal his body and satiate that hunger and she wasn't about to go hunt him down enough bunnies to satisfy that craving. Personally, Rebekah didn't see the point in bunny hunting anyway. He could at least go for bigger game, like a deer or a bear. Have a little fun with the chase. She also wasn't sure how much blood one could get out of a tiny rabbit either.

Not to mention all of that fur.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought and Stefan chose that moment to look up at her, frowning at her expression. "What?" he grouched, already having drained the blood bag and finally feeling less jittery.

He wasn't sure how long that would last or what might set him off next. Seeing Elena and Damon earlier had sent him spiraling into chaos, pulling at his hair as he somehow managed to hyperventilate. He'd only seen either of them anymore in his dreams, in those moments when he was dead and trying to reach out to them for help, and to see them in the flesh had tricked his mind into thinking he was back in the lake, that he'd wake up from the safety of the mansion only to start the dying process all over again.

"I was just wondering how you managed to stomach rabbit blood all these years. What with the fur…" Rebekah shuddered at the thought of it and swallowed, feeling as though she had some stuck in her teeth and nearly gagged.

"You get used to it," Stefan shrugged, dropping the blood bag onto the table as he leaned back against the couch. "And bunnies are more for beginners or quick snacks."

"Oh of course," she replied, leaning back against the couch as she silently assessed him. At least he did seem to be looking better. No more greyness to his features and also no more immediate elongated fangs at the tiniest drop of blood.

"How long?" Stefan asked, having a feeling that he'd actually get the answers out of Rebekah. The others seemed less willing to talk about it. At least in Caroline's case that was because she was busy dealing with everything else that had happened. Things he didn't even fully understand yet.

"Six weeks," Rebekah told him, unwilling to sugar coat the fact. "And it seems he took your phone when he took over being you. So he kept up his little ruse with texts and voicemails after some weeks of us constantly trying to contact you."

" _You_  tried to contact me?" Stefan asked, rubbing a hand across his face as he tried to take in what she'd said. Six weeks was a long time.

"Caroline had been and when you were hardly trying to get back to her I attempted as well." Rebekah shrugged. After learning of Bonnie's death, she'd attempted to make sure Stefan hadn't met the same fate. If only they had known…

"What's going on with her?" Stefan glanced out of the open door, watching new people walking toward another room with various books and bags. He knew something was up, but no one had tried to explain that part to him.

"Her mother is dead," Rebekah informed him, watching as Stefan closed his eyes at that news, guilt and sadness alternating on his features before he looked at her.

"What happened?" It was something he worried about often. Liz was Sheriff in Mystic Falls, a place that had somehow become a supernatural hot spot. Her deputies were often the ones taken out. It was only a matter of time before she was as well. He could only imagine how devastated Caroline had been, how much she still was over her mother's death. They might not have been very close when he'd first met them but that had changed significantly in the last year or so and Stefan knew his friend would take her mother's death very hard.

"She was murdered to get Caroline's attention in order to get my brother's attention," Rebekah replied, remembering the day they'd received the video and how Caroline had broken down in Klaus' arms. She'd been more surprised to see her brother offer the girl comfort in his own way, even if it had come with him whispering how he'd kill every last person involved.

Stefan opened his mouth to reply to that, but quickly shut it. There was movement in the hallway and they both turned their attention toward it, watching as Elena entered the room. "Hey," she greeted, brushing her hair off her face and Rebekah rolled her eyes at the gesture, turning away from the girl.

There had been a time she'd almost called the girl friend before she was stabbed in the back, another when she'd liked her with her humanity off for a bit, but she'd decided that Elena Gilbert was more trouble than she was worth. Maybe she didn't deliberately play with the Salvatore brothers hearts like Katherine did, but she was still doing it, driving a wedge between the two that shouldn't be there. Rebekah had seen it happen with Tatia and her own brothers, and then later with Katherine because of Elijah's love for her and Niklaus' desire to use her to break the curse, only to see its effect on the Salvatore brothers' centuries later. The Doppelgangers were nothing but a nuisance.

She went to rise, not wanting to be privy to whatever train crash was about to happen but stalled her movements at Stefan's hand on her arm. Rebekah looked back at him, seeing the silent plea for her to stay and she nearly did. She had loved him, had cared for him a great deal and maybe if Klaus hadn't forced their departure from one another something good could have come of it, but he had betrayed her too many times in the past year. Used her own feelings against her and Rebekah didn't want to be a fool all over again.

She shook her head at him and continued to rise, brushing off his arm and ignoring the coolness that seemed to wrap around her. "I'll get you another bag," Rebekah told Stefan, picking up the two drained ones and heading out of the room before her resolve could break.

Stefan watched her go, sighing as Elena continued into the room. He should have been happy to see her, but all seeing her did was bring up the fact that she hadn't heard him calling for her, the fact she'd broken his heart and chosen  _his brother_. If it had been anyone else maybe it wouldn't have stung so badly, but for her to choose his own flesh and blood had been a much bigger knife to the gut. Lexi had been right. Maybe Elena had been his epic love, but he would move on. He just didn't know how long that would take and Stefan had a feeling he'd had the right idea before Silas had forced him into the safe and left him to die. He needed to get as far away from his ex and his brother as possible, to let the wounds heal, and live again.

Except that wasn't possible just yet. They were all in trouble and maybe if it had just been the town, he'd have been able to be selfish enough to slip off into the night and let the others deal with it. But Caroline was in trouble and she had been there for him too many times to leave her hanging.

"Hey," Stefan murmured back, watching Elena carefully as she sat down on a chair opposite him. Awkward didn't even begin to describe the tension that seemed to be filling the room.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked and then looked down, seeming to regret her words. No doubt she realized how awful a question that one was. How could he be okay after everything? "I mean...do you need anything?"

Stefan didn't answer; he couldn't come up with anything for it. Just looking at her seemed to start the walls crashing in on him again. He could almost hear the water, a telltale sign he was about to wake up there again, start thrashing about and trying to do anything to get himself out of the safe, only to die all over again. His hands were shaking, and he clenched them tightly, trying to stave off the panic attack.

Rebekah entered the room again, seeing the signs of him reverting to his broken state. She'd just known this was going to happen and while she wanted to leave Elena to deal with it, to walk away from the drama that was their lives, she also knew that having Elena in the room only seemed to make it that much worse for Stefan. "Come on," she demanded, pointing toward the doorway. "Get out of the room. Can't you see that you're only hurting him?"

It took Elena a minute to realize that Rebekah was referring to her and she rose from her chair, glancing at Stefan. "I'm sorry, Stefan," she murmured, looking back at him for a moment before bolting.

Rebekah closed the door, nearly locked it as well, but she figured she'd glare at anyone else who dared try to disturb him, and made her way to the couch. "You're not in the safe, Stefan. You're in the real world. Not that it's such a picnic here, but you're not dying." And that had to be a plus, didn't it?

Stefan shut his eyes, leaning back against the couch and tried the breathing technique he'd taught Caroline all those months back. Rebekah didn't move from her spot on the couch, didn't reach out for him, or offer any sort of comfort. She simply sat beside him, waiting for Stefan to come to grips with reality and ready to kick out any who might interfere with that happening.

* * *

"Am I the only one worried about a plan being  _created and led_  by Blondie?" Damon asked, snorting at the very idea of Caroline being the brains behind any operation. These people had to be losing their minds. He didn't care about whatever new apparent "superpower" she had. He wasn't even sure it really existed. Maybe Klaus wasn't the only one with delusions of grandeur.

"Because all of your plans were always so amazingly thought out and executed," Matt muttered from his spot on one of the couches, helping one of the witches sort through the books they had brought with them.

"I'm pretty sure they backfired nine times out of ten and the one time they didn't was a fluke," Jeremy added, never one to miss a chance to put down Damon, as he looked through one of Bonnie's grimoires. He could see her on the edge of the room, watching all of them, and when she was ready to talk to him and offer some insight he'd be her voice.

"The distraction part seemed to work out just fine," Damon commented, glancing over at where Caroline was sitting next to Klaus. She didn't even bother to look up at him, her focus on the map of the town in front of her.

"I'd wager not quite in the way you expected," Klaus replied, arching a brow at the younger vampire, not bothering to hide how smug he was in that moment.

"I never thought she'd stoop so low as to let you between her thighs," Damon told him, and Caroline grabbed onto Klaus' arm, trying to keep him at her side.

She could feel the tension in his body, sense the fury that seemed to surround him at Damon's comment, but the last thing they needed was a blood bath in the middle of the room. "I suggest you hold your tongue before you no longer have it," Klaus warned him, his eyes narrowing furiously.

"Didn't take you as one for sloppy seconds-" Damon continued but didn't get to finish the sentence. His tongue had swollen, overtaking his mouth and making impossible for him to speak. Elena gasped at his side, alarmed over what was happening to her boyfriend.

Davina hummed to herself as she dropped back to the ground, smoothing out her skirt as she reopened her book. "He no longer can use it," she whispered, shaking a little with amusement. "It'll go down in a minute or two. But I'll just do it again if he speaks so rudely of Caroline again."

Klaus arched a brow at the girl, unable to help being a little impressed with her antics, and eased back against the couch. He'd deal with Damon in his own way later.

Caroline rolled her eyes at all of them. She would not be pulled down into their annoying little war of words. There were more important things to focus on. "We need to look for a spell that can turn Silas to stone like Bonnie did. Something that will incapacitate him long enough for us to lock him the hell away and drop his ass off in the ocean." Or maybe carry it back to New Orleans and lock it up there somewhere. Though the thought of the New Orleans witches opening it up and trying to use Silas against all of them had her feeling rather queasy. So ocean it was.

"We could do the one-" Caleb started, and Caroline snapped up, shaking her head at the very idea of it. "It would put him out of commission, Caroline."

"And have dire consequences so  _no_ ," she snapped, annoyed that he'd even thought of bringing up that one in front of the others. Caleb had brought it up to her over the phone and at first she'd been excited to hear the Coven knew of a way to stop Silas. But when he had told her that the spell required so much energy that they would end up  _dying_  she'd quickly put her foot down against using it.

There had to be another way.

"What one?" Matt asked, curious about the spell and trying not to be too amused at Damon's uncomfortableness.

"What consequences?" Klaus inquired, wanting to know if they were ones he'd find to be acceptable.

" _No._ " Caroline stood up, glaring at Caleb. "It's not up for negotiation and you can't even do it without my permission. And I am  _not giving it._ "

"Caroline," Rebekah called from the doorway and Caroline was never more grateful for the other girl's presence. "The attorney is here."

Caroline nodded to Rebekah before looking back at the others. "We're going to find another way," she told them before leaving the room.

"What was that about?" Jeremy asked, wondering what the hell had just happened.

"She doesn't want us all to die in order to destroy Silas," Davina informed them, her voice entirely too cheery for having said that information. The others in the Coven snapped their attention to the girl before looking worriedly between one another. Caleb gently pressed some old papers into her hands, willing her to look at those instead of speaking.

"I believe it's time you let us all in on what this spell is, Caleb," Klaus ordered, looking over at the boy. If the only consequence was the death of this Coven then that was definitely something Klaus could stand behind. Even if it might bring Caroline some heartache. She'd get it over it after enough time passed.

"It doesn't matter what the spell is because we can't tap into that level of power without her permission," Caleb sighed, setting down the book he'd been looking through. "And unless someone here can convince her that our doing so would be for the greater good I don't think she's going to give it. Which is why we brought every single grimoire the Coven has and then what you'd let us from your own collection to see if we can find anything else to use."

They had all agreed that they were willing to do so before coming to the small town though. They knew of Silas, of his plan to destroy the Other Side. Perhaps if doing so would send the spirits there somewhere else it might not have been such a bad thing, but instead they would be free to roam the world again. Every single supernatural creature who had died in the last two thousand years and there would be nowhere for them to go if they died again. They'd only continue to return. The chaos that would ensue was too great and Silas needed to be stopped. No matter the consequences to themselves.

But Caroline didn't want that to be the answer. She didn't want anyone else to die in order to stop the immortal and she insisted they find another way. Caleb doubted that there was one, but they would look. If anyone could convince Caroline that their sacrifice was needed he figured it would be Klaus. He just hoped some of these other people in the room with them would look out for her when he was gone.

"That doesn't even make sense," Damon replied as best he could, grateful his tongue had deflated some. Though he pretty sure that everyone else in the room was insane. "Caroline Forbes does not have that kind of power." She was loyal and a damn good friend but the way they were all talking about the blonde vampire made no sense to him.

"She can do things now that she wasn't able to do before," Elena told him, remembering the dark light that had shined around her friend's hands. She looked over at the Hybrid, glowering at him. "I know what you're planning. You want to use her for your own gain. You knew, didn't you? What she would become? That's why you were always constantly after her."

"You would do well not to speak of matters you know nothing about," Klaus's smile was anything but pleasant as he looked over at her.

How dare this girl think she could speak to him in this way. Did she not realize that her being Caroline's friend was the only thing keeping her from death at the moment? She had killed his brother and there was nothing more that Klaus would like to do than reciprocate the favor. Though perhaps he'd kill her and slice off Jeremy's arms. He could still through that, but he'd no longer be a threat. Klaus could only imagine how Caroline would react to their deaths or dismemberment and figured he had years to exact his revenge on the Doppelganger and her kin.

"All of it. The apparent drawings. You inviting her to that ball. The prom dress. Even showing up to help Damon when she called. It was all an elaborate plan," Elena nodded, convinced that she was correct in her assessment. Why else would this ancient vampire have acted as he did with Caroline? He wasn't capable of love. That wasn't what it was. "We won't let you take her from us."

"She's her own person, Elena," Klaus replied, smirking as he rose from the couch. He could care less what the girl believed about his intentions towards Caroline as long as Caroline herself knew the truth. And she did. "I couldn't make Caroline do anything she didn't already want to do. If she chooses to leave you, it's because she's realized she has no more use for you and it's time for her to live the life she was destined to live."

"And you think that's with you," Elena shook her head, unable to believe it. There had to be compulsion involved. Something to have Caroline willingly be anywhere near the monster.

"I know it does," Klaus informed her before striding out of the room.

"Ass," Jeremy muttered, wishing for the last few weeks back that had been free of any Original drama.

"He's right though," Caleb murmured, looking back down at the books. "Whatever Caroline decides to do is up to her, not any of us. You can't force her to do anything." And not just because he and the rest of the Coven would stop them if they even dared to try, but because it was ultimately Caroline's decision and no one else's.

"What's keeping her here anymore anyway, Elena?" Matt pointed out. Her mother was dead. Why in the world would Caroline want to stay in the town? He didn't even really any longer. But he had the mansion and a job and maybe once he figured out what he wanted to do with his life he'd leave as well. But he couldn't fault Caroline for wanting to get the hell out of their town.

"She's our friend, Matt," Elena couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't lose her too. Not with Bonnie being truly gone. She needed Caroline in her life.

"It's not like she's dying, Elena," Jeremy murmured, concentrating on the book in front of him so he didn't have to look at his sister.

"She said we could visit," Matt added, before turning his own attention back to his book.

Elena glared at the doorway that Klaus had exited, barely hearing the others' words. Maybe she couldn't force her friend to do anything but she sure as hell was going to try and knock some sense into her before it was too late and Caroline had made what Elena considered to be the biggest mistake of her life.

* * *

Locked to a radiator wasn't exactly how Katherine had wanted to spend the day, but at least the immortal hadn't made good on his threat to break her limbs to keep her from running away. Movies had made it look so damn easy to get out of the damn things and she'd been trying for hours to do so, utilizing whatever she was able to get her hands on to try and pick the lock or break the chain. Tried to twist her hands to somehow slip out of them and had even contemplated breaking her own hand to somehow get them off, but she'd decided not to do that until she knew for certain it would help her remove the handcuffs.

The sound of the door being unlocked had her on high alert, attention snapping toward it and waiting to see Silas. Instead it was a young woman who entered with a tray of food. Katherine opened her mouth to speak.

"Don't even bother," the woman snapped, setting the tray down on the floor before her. The grapes rolled off the plate at the impact, sandwich sliding undone and bottle of water rolling away. She kicked it back toward Katherine. "Ain't supposed to listen to a word you say anyway."

Katherine narrowed her eyes, mentally cursing Silas as the woman left as quickly as she'd arrived. Part of her thought of pushing the food away, but she was  _starving_  and hadn't eaten since the night before. She looked over the tray for anything that she might be able to use in the situation but there wasn't anything small enough to work into the keyhole. No matter, she'd just keep looking out for an opportunity to escape or get the upper hand somehow.

She had not survived for the last five hundred years to only die because of some madman's absurd true love fantasy. And so maybe she also had Caroline to worry about after leading her mother to the slaughter, but new Harbinger powers or not, she wasn't about to let the small town blonde be her downfall either.

* * *

Caroline pressed her forehead against the door after she closed it, thankful that the attorney was leaving. It wasn't that he wasn't a nice man, Elena had been right in her assessment of him. It was more that going over everything that had to do with her mother's will and estate had drained her considerably. She could only imagine how it had been for Steven and her mother after her father had died. She hadn't been part of that process aside from attending the funeral. No wonder her mother had seemed even more exhausted that week.

She couldn't help but think that she should have helped around the house more than or not complained about who knew what that week, but it didn't really any longer. There wasn't any way to change what had happened in the past, how she had behaved, and her mother and she had parted on good terms, just as she had done with her father, and didn't that mean something?

There was still so much to do, plans to be made, and she needed to find out if the others had made any headway on finding another spell. Because  _they had to_. She refused to let them all die to stop Silas. Enough people had died and Caroline knew that more would eventually, that was life, but she couldn't stomach the thought of more dying because of him. There were tons of spells in the world. There had to be another one that worked. She wouldn't settle for anything less.

Pushing away from the door, she headed toward where she'd left the others but steered to the right to check in on Stefan. Rebekah had been watching him, which Caroline could only imagine how awkward that must have been after everything the two had been through, but it seemed like a better idea than having Elena do it. Being around her or Damon only seemed to set him off on a panic attack.

Caroline quietly opened the door, peeking her head inside and quirked her lips at the two of them drinking bottles of rum. 'I've got this,' Rebekah mouthed and Caroline nodded, shutting the door again before Stefan could notice her. He had enough drama going on with him without her adding her own.

She wasn't even five feet away from the door when Elena stepped into her path. "We need to talk," her friend started, and Caroline glanced up at the ceiling, mentally counting to ten and reminding herself that Elena didn't deserve to be the outlet of her growing frustration.

"What about?" Caroline asked, hoping this was going to be something relevant to everything that was happening. Maybe Jeremy had an idea from some Hunter source or whatever. She couldn't help but be a little optimistic.

"Klaus." And just like that, all of her optimism deflated in an instant.

"Elena, we are not doing this right now," Caroline sighed, and moved to step around her, but Elena was having none of it and stepped with her, blocking her path.

"He is  _using you_ ," Elena started, wanting to get it all out in one fell swoop. She knew if she gave Caroline a chance to interrupt that the other girl would. "He probably knew you were destined to be this Harbinger or whatever it is since the beginning. He's got plans on top of plans. We all know this. He's probably been working on this one for a thousand years like the breaking the curse one."

"If he'd known about what I am now back then he'd have killed me on sight," Caroline replied, taking hold of Elena by her arms and forcefully moving her out of the way. "And I meant it when I said I wasn't doing this now. Feel free to try and convince me that Klaus is only using me for whatever another day. I just had to figure out what to do with my mother's estate so excuse me if I'm not in the mood to discuss anything else of importance right now."

What she wanted to do was drink and Caroline knew where all the good liquor was stashed in the house-well unless Matt had moved it-and so she headed away from her sighing friend and toward the room Tyler had always hidden a couple bottles inside. She didn't expect to find anyone else in it and she definitely didn't expect to find Klaus inside of it. Caroline blinked when she spotted him lounging on one of the couches drinking whiskey straight from the bottle.

It reminded her of only a few months back when Hayley, Tyler and her had been trying to trick him with the whole breakup plan. What fools they all had been. She quickly strode across the room and took the bottle from him, taking a long sip as he pulled her down to sit on his lap. Caroline didn't say a word, just leaned back against his chest as she drank more. She wasn't in the mood to chat, her mind a mess of emotions and words and too much going on in it. She was tense, her whole body seemed to be in knots, and she hated that feeling. Her control seemed to be slipping through her fingers and she didn't know how to grab hold of it again.

If Klaus had heard her conversation with Elena in the hallway-which she was certain he had since his hearing was better than her own-he didn't mention it. Instead he slipped his hand under her top, fingers ghosting along the skin above the hem of her skirt which caused shivers to run up her spine. She had missed his touch, his hands on her and her own on him had been something she might not have experienced a whole lot of, but what she had experienced had her craving more.

His other hand swept her hair away from her neck, exposing the skin there to him and Caroline closed her eyes when she felt his breath on it before his lips were pressing against her. She let out a contented sigh, relaxing a little, before tensing all over again as Klaus' hand drifted to her thighs, tugging her skirt higher. "You're tense," he murmured, nibbling on the shell of her ear and drifting his fingers against the side of her panties.

Caroline was well aware of what he was intending to do next and she whimpered at the thought, all for him helping her release some of her tension, but they were in the Lockwood house. Her ex-boyfriends house. The house of Mrs. Lockwood who he had murdered. She didn't know if she could let Klaus pleasure her like that on the very couch that her and Tyler had made out on before. "You're overthinking," he continued, fingers drawing over the satiny material and she sucked in a breath, done with thinking for the moment, and he ripped the thin fabric from her body before she could protest.

"I liked those," she grumbled, eyes shutting again as his fingers moved back to draw languid circles against her thighs, just ghosting along her core. She shifted them further apart to give him more access and wanted to punch him when he laughed against her neck, entirely too amused.

"I'll buy you new ones," Klaus replied, even more delighted when he found out that she was already wet for him. "Someone's eager."

"Someone hasn't been getting any since she left New Orleans," Caroline hissed, hips pressing up into his hand. One of his hands moved to her stomach, holding her against him as his other fingers sought out the bundle of nerves he knew she was desperate for him to touch. Klaus barely brushed against her clit, lips pressing against her shoulder, further amused when she whimpered in need. "You're making me more frustrated."

Klaus nipped her shoulder then, causing Caroline to reach back and grasp onto his neck to keep her from rocking too hard. "There are others in the house, sweetheart," he reminded, not really caring how loud she got from his ministrations but knowing that she would probably prefer no one else stumble upon them.

He loved the way her body reacted to his touch, the flush of her chest, her breathing becoming slightly erratic as her hips moved to the way his fingers rubbed. Her eyes were shut again, head pressed back against his shoulder as one of her hands clung to his arm against her stomach, the other clutching his shoulder. He had half a mind to bring her nearly to the brink multiple times, have her plead with him to give her release, but he'd seen how exhausted she'd been earlier in the day and that only seemed to have deepened in the last few hours.

Klaus expertly moved his fingers against her clit, knowing she was already close enough that he didn't need to do anything else, that she truly had missed his touch over the last few days. "That's my girl," he breathed into her ear as she finally got the release she'd desired. Klaus smoothed her skirt back into place, bringing his fingers to his mouth and licking them clean as she breathed, slowly coming down from her high.

Caroline was too tired to even say anything about his possessive statement, but made a mental note to discuss it later. She could feel how hard he was beneath her and didn't want to leave him hanging. Not to mention she wanted to feel him inside of her, but she couldn't do that inside the house. She might not have loved Tyler as she once did anymore, but that seemed like an awful way to honor his mother's memory.

"You, me, outside, now," Caroline told Klaus as she rose, yelping when he did so as well, far quicker than she had and looping an arm around her waist.

She didn't expect for him to dash them outside the house and into the surrounding woods, not far from the house, still within sight but far enough away for her to be comfortable with what they were planning on doing. And Caroline knew that Klaus had an idea of what she was after considering he had her pressed up against the nearest tree and was sliding his hands under her shirt again.

It was her turn to laugh at his eagerness and she shoved him away, pushing him toward another tree as she tugged her shirt over her head. His gaze raked over her body, licking his lips as he took her in all over again. He couldn't help but be reminded of when he'd been in Tyler's body, how they'd gotten to this point then, but he would have been damned if the first time he truly tasted Caroline Forbes it was in that particular body.

Klaus enjoyed when she attempted to take control of the situation, ripping his shirt from his body as she kissed him hard. His hands were tangled in her hair, giving as good as he received as he turned them around again, letting her back hit the tree instead. His fingers dug into her scalp when she deliberately pressed her body against his lower half, letting her hand stroke him through the fabric of his pants.

The snapping of a stick had them pulling apart and whirling in that direction. "No please, don't let me stop you," Silas told them, a menacing grin gracing his lips as he looked them over. Klaus grabbed Caroline, forcing her behind him and trying to keep her body out of the immortals sights. "I see you decided to let him ruffle those perfect little feathers."

"Go to hell," Caroline replied, glaring at the man.

"Not in the plans, love," Silas mimicked Klaus' voice, causing the Hybrid to tense at the notion, and Caroline hissed. Klaus let out a growl as he fell to his knees, pain erupting all over his body as the immortal dug its way into her head. "So your Coven is here. Good."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him, sending a wave of light at him and causing Silas to falter and step back. Pain seemed to wrack through his body as well then and she sent another wave, trying to force him to leave the property or at least release his hold on Klaus. The last wave she sent seemed to do the trick as Klaus pushed himself off the ground, Hybrid features showing as he glared at the immortal.

"We're going to play a game, Caroline," Silas told her. "One I think you'll love. Or well, no  _actually I'll_  be the one who loves it. It's called how many citizens of Mystic Falls can I kill every hour before you give me what I want? It starts tomorrow at noon. Be a good girl and have your Coven do what it needs to before then."

He was gone before either of them could react and Caroline reached for Klaus, trying to see what kind of damage Silas had managed to do to him. Klaus nearly pushed her away, reminded of the last time when Silas had attacked his mind and the false Caroline who had come to him at first. "We're going to end him," Caroline murmured, staring hard at the darkness where Silas had disappeared into.

That was his Caroline. Klaus knew it and picked her shirt up off the ground, throwing it to her. "You're going to need to make a decision you won't like, Caroline. No matter what you choose people will die. It's only a matter of how many at this point," Klaus pointed out, watching her carefully as she pulled her shirt back on.

She didn't want him to be right but she knew that Klaus was correct in his assessment of the situation. Either they continued to look for spells that might work and probably got to the hour Silas would start killing people she'd known all of her life. Or she'd grant her Coven permission to take him down and they would end up dying. A rock and a hard place had never seemed more apt to her than in that moment.

"I know," she replied, looking back at Klaus. Though she had no idea which way she would choose. No one deserved to die except Silas and even then, did he? After all, he had been cursed as well. But he'd made his bed, intent on killing others and destroying the Other Side so he could get what he wanted, the rest of the world be damned.

Now she needed to make her own decision and Klaus was right. No matter which way she chose someone was going to die. Caroline didn't have a clue how she was going to decide and for the first time in a long while found herself hating her new status. A niggling feeling in the back of her mind was trying to tell her that the answer was obvious but her exhaustion was making it hard to concentrate fully on anything at the moment. The adrenaline rush she'd been experiencing with Klaus was gone.

"I need blood and then we are going to sit down and do a pros and cons list and figure this out," Caroline muttered, heading back toward the house. After they had changed clothes because she really didn't want to hear Elena's heavy sighs or deal with Damon's dirty comments over their current state of dress.

 


	26. Chapter 26

_Tonight the foxes hunt the hounds  
_ _It's all over now before it has begun  
_ _We've already won_

* * *

Two bags of blood later and Caroline felt even more anxious. She couldn't seem to stop alternating between tapping her foot against the table leg or her pen against the pad of paper she was currently using to make a pros/cons list. The list wasn't helping either and she alternated to drumming her fingers on the wooden surface, chewing on the end of the pen cap and then realizing her bite might actually cause the thing to burst. The last thing she needed was ink all over her lips and teeth.

At least she didn't need to worry about Stefan at the moment. Rebekah seemed to be doing a pretty good job of keeping an eye on him and helping him stave off the panic attacks that he couldn't seem to shake. Not that Caroline could blame him. Everything seemed to remind him of being in the damn safe and set him off on another one. She didn't know how to help him with that and figured time was one of the only things that would. And maybe something for him to anchor onto when he felt like everything was closing in again. There had to be someone she could ask about that.

Later though because wasn't there already enough for her to go over at the moment? She looked up from the pad of paper, watching Klaus pace back and forth a little ways away. Elijah had called to discuss some matters in New Orleans with him and they'd been going back and forth for the last fifteen minutes. Caroline was pretty sure a vein in Klaus' head was going to pop the way it seemed to throb the further annoyed he became with the discussion.

"That's not going to help," Caleb started as he slid onto the chair next to her. He tapped the pad of paper, looking it over and Caroline let out a long sigh. It really wasn't helping her any. All it did was make her see the horrible outcomes of both scenarios and she still wasn't liking either of them. "How long have you been a vampire?"

"Like a year and a half," she murmured, pushing the pad away. She needed a break from the damn thing and turned her attention toward Caleb, propping herself up by her elbow as she leaned against the table.

"It kinda shows," he replied, grinning at her indignant look.

"I'll have you know that I have some of the  _best control_  ever for a baby vampire," Caroline protested. Or so the others always told her, but really compared to the other ones around her age that Caroline knew of, she really did have the best control.

"No, it's not that. I'd be really surprised if you didn't have control. You're kind of a control freak." Caleb pointed out, and Caroline stuck her tongue out at him. She definitely was one and she considered that to be one of her strengths, not a weakness. Even if some saw it as a definite flaw to her personality. "Your mindset isn't like Klaus'. And not the whole humans are a source of food and entertainment, nothing more one. But like if someone attacked him he'd be using all of his vampire-hybrid-whateverness to his advantage." Caleb tapped her forehead. "You're still thinking like a human a lot of the time."

Caroline sighed. Hadn't she been thinking that just the other day? "I know." She still wasn't sure what her friend was trying to get at though.

"And you've been a Harbinger for about six weeks," Caleb continued, mimicking her stance against the table. "So you're not thinking like that either. We don't necessarily  _have_  to die if you give us the ability to tap into the potential that we need to in order to take him down." He glanced down at her hands and Caroline's eyes widened.

How could she have even missed that? If she used her dark light on all of them that should allow them to come back from the power draining death the spell would require. Except. "You won't have your free will anymore, Caleb," Caroline shook her head, rising from the chair. "Do you even realize what that really means? You'll be like Patrick. Like Davina." Though part of Davina's devotion she chalked up to the whole break from Marie. The girl definitely hadn't been quite the same after that, but Caroline didn't know where the trauma of having shared her body with another spirit ended and the whole sired to her part started. "The Coven is supposed to keep me in check. Can't exactly do that if you're all blindly following what I want."

Caleb was silent for a long moment and Caroline knew that he was trying to come up with a rebuttal, with reasons why it was the only way. She was afraid he'd come up with some good ones that she couldn't overlook. The witch glanced over at Klaus who had moved out into the hallway, and while he couldn't overhear the conversation, he could tell that it was a pretty heated one. "He called you, didn't he? That night the witches attacked and he was hell-bent on killing off the remainders of their families?" Caleb asked, looking back at her.

"We talked, yeah," Caroline nodded, remembering the night. She'd been exhausted and only wanted to hear his voice for a while longer.

"You got him not to do that," Caleb continued, watching her closely and she sighed, raking her hands through her hair.

"Caleb," she started, but he shook his head, not done speaking yet.

"You got the big bad Hybrid to compromise. Do you even realize what that means, Caroline?" Caleb asked, motioning toward Klaus. Because it was something that didn't happen. Not without deals being put into place that stripped people of power, not without Klaus getting something in return that far outweighed what the other party was left with or the Hybrid slaughtering entire villages as the old stories liked to tell. "I don't think you're going to need us guiding you. I've known you were special since that day on the beach. Do you remember that?"

She nodded; unable to believe that had only been a few weeks ago. It seemed like so much more time had passed since then. "I do though. Maybe not right this second. But give me a year or a decade or I don't know and I might need my Coven to help me out. To remind me of the balance, of...everything I'm supposed to stand for."

Because when they were done in Mystic Falls, Caroline knew she would be returning to New Orleans. And not just that, but she'd be returning to be  _with Klaus_. Maybe she didn't quite believe in the whole 'last love' thing just yet because her insecurities still needed to be assured and a week or so wasn't going to do that, but her gut told her that was where she needed to be. It was where she  _wanted_  to be as well. Being at his side, in his bed, with him talking to the others-between the witches, vampires and wolves-that was her place in the world. She couldn't quite explain it. It just felt  _right_. She felt like she truly belonged there, like she actually made a difference there.

But Klaus was practically drenched in darkness and Caroline couldn't help but worry that the older she got, the less she would be tied to humans, and the less she'd hold onto that part of her that she was still clinging to at the moment. Maybe it was a good thing. Maybe that was precisely what she was supposed to do, but that didn't mean it didn't frighten her to the very core. Klaus seemed to love her light, and she knew he wouldn't want her to lose that, but that was different than the whole Harbinger duty wasn't it? And maybe the witches were part of the supernatural, but they were still human.

She didn't want to have all the power she possessed without someone being able to keep her in check in case she did lose control. Because wasn't that part of having control? To have a plan set in place in case one lost it? And without the Coven how could she be stopped?

"It doesn't have to be all of us. You probably shouldn't use it on Davina again anyway," Caleb pointed out, unsure how dying and coming back would affect the younger girl. From Caroline's pursed lips he had a feeling she didn't want to chance that either. "And we're going to need to start looking into recruits when we get back to New Orleans. Probably no one from there though." Not yet at least. He didn't trust them.

"And who decides which of you will be doing the spell and becoming sired to me and who won't?" Caroline asked, still hating the idea even if she knew it was a viable one. They wouldn't be dead then. Though she wasn't sure how alive they'd be if they were sired. Being beholden to her didn't seem much like living but it was better than death. And Patrick had seemed happy and he was sort of free, wherever he had run off to. Even if she'd had to ensure that through orders.

"Ask us and we'll decide our own fate," Caleb suggested, and Caroline sat back down in the chair, looking more exhausted than ever. "We should be able to do it with four of us, but six would be better."

"So over half of you." That left four not counting Davina who wouldn't be involved if Caroline had her way.

"You know it's the best way to go about this," Caleb murmured, reaching over to clasp her hand in his. "And besides, we don't know exactly what it does to us. Davina can't really be a good example considering I'm pretty sure breaking her free from Marie screwed with her more than the whole dark light part."

Except Caroline knew it was how some of the other Harbingers had gotten humans on their side to alter the way battles would proceed. There was little doubt in her mind that those who did the spell would become like Patrick. Would she send them away to live out their lives then? She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do in the aftermath.

"What are you still doing up?" Rebekah asked as she entered the kitchen, heading toward the fridge. "The funeral is tomorrow and you look like an absolute mess. I know we don't require too much sleep but we do need some and after the last few days we've had you are in need of it."

Caroline had almost forgotten about the funeral and that fact alone made her feel awful. How could she nearly forget her mother's service? "Rebekah's right. We're doing locating spells to try and find Katherine. Jeremy is talking to Bonnie via his ghost ability to see if she can find out anything helpful. And Rebekah is on Stefan duty. You go rest for a few hours." Caleb nodded toward the hallway where Klaus was still on the phone. "And if you could take him with you that would be marvelous." Not that he wanted to know what they might get up to in bed, but not having the Hybrid underfoot would be helpful.

"You have bags under your eyes," Rebekah grimaced, already heading out of the room again with another bag of blood.

There was so much left to do that Caroline wasn't sure she could afford a few hours of sleep. "You want to be clear headed when you face Silas again," Caleb pointed out, and she knew he was right.

"Wake me if anything happens," she told him, and he nodded, squeezing her hands once before she rose and headed toward where Klaus was still pacing.

The Hybrid stopped once she entered the hallway, shaking his head as he continued to frown, listening to what Elijah was saying. "Do what you must do, brother," Klaus bit out, uneasy about leaving him in charge of the city, but what else was there to do? He hung up before he could be pulled into further discussion and focused his attention on Caroline instead.

"I've been ordered to take a nap and I have to bring you with me," Caroline informed him, reaching out for his hand, interlacing their fingers.

"Oh really now?" he mused, arching a brow at the fact the witch was pushing them together. Not that he was about to complain about the idea. Especially after the phone call that he had received. Klaus was all for engaging in some stress relieving activities.

"I think Caleb doesn't want you interfering with whatever they're working on," she told him, tugging him toward the stairs. "And he figures if you're with me you can't be bothering him." It was a pretty smart plan and she couldn't blame Caleb for coming up with it.

They walked past the master bedroom, past Tyler's old room, and Caroline steered Klaus toward one of the guest rooms. She couldn't stomach them being in either of the others. Not after everything that had transpired between herself, Klaus, and the Lockwood family. It simply felt  _wrong_ , like they were shaming the dead and she didn't want to do that. Caroline kicked off her shoes as soon as they entered the room, letting go of his hand and running her hands through her hair as she tried to still her ever active mind.

Whatever ideas Klaus had been thinking of before they had entered the room slipped from his mind when he got a good look at her again. There was none of the exuberant energy that she usually displayed, her shoulders drooped, and he could see that she was fighting off precisely how exhausted she was feeling. No doubt she'd been on the go since finding out Silas was back and between that information, Stefan's resurfacing, and her mother's funeral, it was a wonder she hadn't had some sort of breakdown. Most would with all that added pressure. And while Caroline seemed to thrive under pressure most times, even she had her limits.

Klaus moved to stand behind her, pulling her back against him as he rested his chin on top of her head. He smiled at the fact she seemed to melt back against him, sliding her arms to cover his own. "What did Elijah want?" she asked, before trying to stifle a yawn.

He led her over to the bed, sitting down on it to take off his shoes as Caroline curled up on top of the mattress, watching him expectantly. "Nothing he shouldn't be able to take care of," Klaus told her. Hopefully that would be true. At her look, he continued, knowing she wouldn't be satisfied by that little bit of information. "Those we'd called in for help but didn't need are requesting to stay in the city now that I have control of it. I don't particularly care for all of them and so won't be granting them permission. There's some debate over how to gain my favor."

Caroline rolled her eyes at that and Klaus smiled, reaching over to brush stray curls off of her cheek. "You've never quite seen us in our element, love," he reminded, and she opened her mouth to protest that, but he placed a finger against her lips. "You've seen pieces of it, but I don't believe you've ever had the pleasure of truly knowing and dealing with older vampires. And I'm not speaking of the Salvatore brothers in age, but ones centuries older. Some of our first turned and their progenies through the centuries." Of course not all had made it. Whether because of their own stupidity, hunters, or the rather unfortunate circumstances of annoying one of the Original family through the years, many had perished, but there were still quite a few of the truly old ones. Though, none from Kol or Finn's lines.

"They have seen and experienced more than the others and know precisely what happens if they cross or benefit me in some way," Klaus continued, laying down beside her on the bed.

"I'm gonna guess they prefer being on your good side," Caroline replied. She curled up against him, resting her head on his chest, one arm tucked between her body and his and the other draped across his chest. She was pleased when his own arms moved to hold onto her as well.

"Most do," Klaus pointed out, and she pressed her lips together at the absolute arrogance in his voice. "I haven't forgiven some for their past mistakes yet. It'll be interesting to see how they think they can make it up to me."

Caroline had never met Rose, but she'd heard Elena talk of the other vampire. How the girl and another had been on the run from Elijah and Klaus ever since Katherine's turning. The fear she had shown at the mere mention of the Originals names. They had been scared of them as well, seen firsthand some of the terror that the family could bring about.

"We'll need to find you something spectacular to wear for when you meet them all. Those that I allow to remain," Klaus continued, threading his fingers through her hair. Caroline was trying valiantly to stay awake, to hear all that he was telling her, but sleep kept pulling her down, his soothing touch only adding to her drowsiness. "A dress fit for a queen."

Klaus smiled as he felt the rise and fall of her chest against his own, could tell from the weightlessness of her body pressed to his that she'd drifted off to sleep. He'd never been one for cuddling, preferring to eat whoever he'd taken into his bed when he was finished with them or make them leave once he was satisfied. But it seemed like with most things, Caroline Forbes was capable of getting him to do many things he wouldn't have before. Holding her close while she got some much needed rest was perfectly fine with him. He had no desire to speak to any of the others, except perhaps Rebekah and Stefan, but he'd rather remain where he was.

He'd been wanting to touch Caroline for so long, denied the simplest forms of it, that Klaus wasn't about to let the chance to hold her and stroke her hair go to waste.

* * *

Caleb hadn't expected who would be willing to end up sired to Caroline to become such a massive debate. Only six were needed and that was all he was willing to let do it as well. There were only ten of them, not counting Davina who was already out of the running, and while sure, they would be recruiting and inducting new members into the Coven at some point, who knew how long that would take. They couldn't afford to only have less than four of them up to full mental capacity.

"You know it can't be you, don't you?" Joanne asked, and Caleb looked up from writing their names on slips of paper. He'd just started writing his own on the slip and scrunched his nose, confused as to why he couldn't offer himself up like all of the others were doing. It had to be an equal opportunity in order to be fair.

"Why can't I?" Caleb asked folding his slip but Joanne took it from him before he could put it in the cup with the rest of them. So what if he was the youngest member aside from Davina? Hadn't he shown he was more than capable of helping? That he was devoted to the cause? He opened his mouth, ready to protest and demand his name be added to the drawing.

"Who do you think the Coven leader is now, Caleb?" Joanne continued, dropping his name into the nearby waste basket. "Your grandmother left with the others. It was  _you_  who unbound the others to their powers when they proved to be unworthy.  _You_  who were chosen to go along with Caroline for her transition into fully becoming the Harbinger."

"Because I was the closest one in age," Caleb reminded, remembering the meeting of the Coven six weeks ago. He had never expected to be picked, figuring one of the more experienced witches would be chosen.

"Hardly," Joanne smiled, sitting down on the couch beside some of the other members. "You can't be one of those who are sired, Caleb. You have to lead the Coven into the next age."

"You're destined for greater things," Davina murmured, taking the cup of names off the table. "Bigger responsibilities. She'll need you to remind her who she is sometimes." She dumped the cup over onto the floor, spilling the names out before her.

Hadn't that been what Caroline had been telling him earlier? He'd been ready to sacrifice his life in order to help her stop Silas, but perhaps his greater sacrifice would be in sticking by Caroline's side and reminding her who of who she was and what her duty was until he eventually met his own end. Watching Davina pick up the first name and slowly unwrinkled it, Caleb decided he really wouldn't want it any other way.

* * *

"I still don't get why Blondie is the one leading this thing," Damon muttered as Elena pulled him down onto the couch and glared at him to keep quiet. He crossed his arms, not liking the proceedings one bit, but knew his protests were landing on deaf ears. And from the way the littlest witch was looking at him, he figured it was a good time to start holding his tongue again.

Caroline bit back a response, not wanting to give the other vampire the satisfaction of her annoyed response, and focused on Davina instead who handed her a cup. She looked curiously at it for a moment, unsure why the girl had done so and Davina motioned for her to turn it upside down. Caroline did as silently instructed, watching the six slips of paper fall down onto the coffee table in front of her.

Ah.

The members of her Coven who would end up sired to her if everything played out like it should. Caroline flipped the papers open, making a mental note of each one, as the rest of the motley crew started entering the room, ready to learn about the plan to defeat Silas. Caroline let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding once she realized Caleb wasn't one of the chosen. She really didn't know what she would have done if his name had been on one of the slips.

She looked up, locking her gaze with his, and the witch shrugged, but offered her a smile which she reciprocated before turning her attention back to the group as a whole. "Okay, so we have a plan to take down Silas," Caroline started and looked over at Jeremy. "If Bonnie has any insight feel free to interrupt whenever you need to."

"Will do," Jeremy promised, and she watched him look over at the empty space Bonnie's ghost must have been residing in.

Caroline couldn't help but stare at that space as well for a moment, wondering how her friend was doing, hating that Bonnie was dead. There wasn't anything for her to do about that now though. "Okay, so first things first. We need the cure and to get the cure, we're going to need Katherine," Caroline told them, looking over at her Coven.

"We've got a tracking spell on her," Joanne started, laying out the map of the town that Caleb had gotten offline. She held up a crystal over the paper, letting go of it and everyone watched as it fell downward before swiping across the paper, ending standing upright over a motel on the outskirts of town. "Currently she's here. But if she moves all we have to do is either look at this again."

"Or," Caleb held up his own crystal. "If you're on the move and she somehow starts running. Hold this one in your palm." He held out his hand and they watched as it spun for a moment before locking into place. If her sense of direction was right it was now pointing at where the motel was located.

Caroline nodded, taking a deep breath before she continued. "So cure. We've got that checked."

"How much do we need of it?" Rebekah interrupted from the back of the room. Stefan leaned against the wall nearby her. They were both close to the door in case he needed a break. Caroline also noted that Rebekah was standing so that she blocked most of his few of his brother and Elena.

"Bonnie says all of it," Jeremy told them, pausing as he listened to the rest of what the former witch had to say. "You're going to need to bleed her dry and collect her blood. She says there's a spell in the grimoire." His gaze moved around the room, stopping on the pile of books at the other end. One in particular fell off the stack, pages fluttering for a moment before stopping on a specific one. "That'll explain how to get it back into actual cure form."

Davina picked up the book, trailing her fingers along the weathered pages as she read it. "We already have all of these ingredients."

"She's going to die if you bleed her out," Stefan murmured, and Caroline looked back at him. She knew the Salvatores had a complicated relationship with Katherine but she honestly didn't care if it killed the woman. Not after all she had done.

She was so tempted to say 'good', but Klaus beat her to it. "Good. As much fun as it's been to watch her run like a rat in a cage for all these years, I've grown rather tired of her scheming, so I'll happily watch the life leave her eyes," he commented, a malicious grin on his face. Caroline had a feeling that he was already imaging said scenario in his head.

"Anyway," Caroline murmured, not wanting to dwell on that part. "So we get the cure and then we need to convince Silas that we're going to drop the veil. That I've given you guys permission to use your mojo or whatever we're calling it to do that." Then of course they were going to actually get Silas out in the open in order to incapacitate him, but Caroline had a feeling he'd be more than happy to come out to try and manipulate them all to his will. "The Coven will actually paralyze him with the spell." And die, but she couldn't think about that part. "At which point new cure will need to be injected into him."

"Going to probably need someone really quick to do that," Damon pointed out, and looked over at Klaus. "Looks like you're the fastest one here, Klausy. Or is this one of those throw someone else under the bus situations and you save your own skin?"

That's what it  _should_  have been. It was what every fiber of his being was telling Klaus for it to be, but there was no telling how long the paralysis would last and the cure needed to be injected in quickly. And Caroline would be out there  _without_  the protection of her Coven at that point. He couldn't let her face Silas alone. "I will be," Klaus replied, leaning back in the chair and locking his gaze challengingly with the younger vampire.

Caroline hadn't expected that and she glanced over at Klaus, resting a hand on his shoulder to silently thank him for his allegiance. She was even further surprised when he took hold of her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before letting it go. Never once did he break his gaze with Damon.

"Then what are we doing to him?" Elena asked, not liking the looks being exchanged. Did Damon forget that Klaus could pull his damn heart out before any of them could react? Did he really have to poke the sleeping beast?

"That's kind of the big question," Caroline sighed, sitting down on the arm of Klaus' chair. "He'll be a warlock then and there are some spells that could lock him into a permanent stasis where he can't do anything…"

"But he could always be freed from that," Caleb muttered, leaning forward. "Same if we lock him up somewhere and I don't think we can strip him of his powers." Not like he'd done to the Leseid Coven. He wasn't tied to them like the others had been.

"Bonnie says you have to kill him," Jeremy stated, furrowing his brow as he continued to listen to the ghost. "You're going to need to be careful. Because once he's a warlock he'll do whatever he can to stop you from killing him, but you should be able to do that with your light. Right now it only hurts him but he heals quickly."

That was what Caroline had figured would need to happen and she found she had no qualms with doing so. Because if Silas was a warlock he might eventually be able to figure out his own way to lower the veil. Maybe it'd take him a hundred years, but then she'd be right back at the start, needing to stop him all over again. And hadn't enough already died because of him?

Not to mention if he got his way, the balance would be completely destroyed. Ghosts weren't meant to walk the earth again and just as Jeremy's rebirth had led to Bonnie's death, the world would have to find some way to balance it all out again, and Caroline didn't even want to contemplate what that might mean.

"So we kill him," Caroline nodded. They could do this.

"Sounds easy enough," Matt spoke up from his corner by Jeremy, though he didn't look at all convinced of his own words. After all, none of their plans had ever quite gone off without a hitch and why in the world would this one be any different?

Caroline glanced over at the grandmother clock against the wall. First though, they had a funeral to get through.

* * *

Caroline had kept the funeral small, only allowing for close friends and coworkers to be the ones who could attend. She didn't want it to be a spectacle and the bigger funerals only seemed to allow for chaos to rain down on Mystic Falls. Though it hadn't always been that way. There would be a wake at the Grill afterward but Caroline already knew she wouldn't be able to attend that part. She could almost hear the idle gossip that would come out because of that fact, but it was beginning too close to noon for her comfort and she hadn't known Silas was going to demand an audience with her when she'd scheduled it.

A year ago she might have cared what her neighbors would have to say about her absence, but considering she didn't' plan on returning to Mystic Falls for a good long while once she left it again, their words didn't really matter anymore. Plus she figured her mother would not only have understood why she hadn't been able to go but would have been proud of her for doing what she could to protect the citizens of the town. Wasn't that what Liz Forbes had done for pretty much all of her adult life?

She sat up front with Matt, Elena and Damon in the first pew, a few of the deputies making up the rest of the row. Klaus had actually offered to attend with her, something she hadn't expected and while she would have loved nothing more than for him to be there holding her hand like Matt was, she also knew the members of the town council that were in attendance would be watching him like a hawk. It'd probably spark a whole lot of unwanted questions that she didn't have time to answer. Damon and Elena were currently off of their radar and Caroline would like to keep it that way.

It'd be harder to leave if she thought her best friend was in any sort of danger.

She barely heard anything the preacher was saying, her focus on the casket that held her mom's body. Caroline had been doing so well at keeping it together, to not breaking down, but the thought of her mother being put into the ground in less than an hour had her unable to hold back a sob. Matt's hand tightened around her own and she lay her head against his shoulder, letting the tears fall. She didn't care to keep up a mask, she needed to cry, to say goodbye even if it was the very last thing that she wanted to do.

She felt another hand on her arm and looked over to see Elena leaning toward her, offering a small empathetic smile. Caroline couldn't quite offer one back, but she knew Elena understood what she was currently feeling. How many family members had her friend buried now?

The preacher had stopped talking and was motioning for her, and Caroline sighed, remembering she'd told the man she would give a eulogy. "You don't have to, Care," Matt murmured, but she shook her head, pushing herself up off the pew.

Yes she did. She owed it to her mom to tell the world how much she loved her and what a phenomenal woman she had been. Her legs seemed to shake with each step and for a moment Caroline wasn't sure she'd make it to the podium in one piece, but somehow she held herself together. She placed the index cards down on the podium, wiping at her eyes before looking out the crowd.

"My mom," Caroline started and looked over at the casket, blinking away fresh tears as she caught sight of her mother's body dressed in the clothes she'd picked out with Rebekah. She looked so peaceful and Caroline hoped that she had finally found some sort of peace. "My mom was a workaholic and as you all pretty much know I inherited that trait from her. She was also ridiculously stubborn, couldn't cook anything aside from a grilled cheese sandwich to save her life, and she loved this town. And I'd like to think that this town loved her."

She looked out at the small crowd, watching them nod in assent. Some of them had no idea about the sacrifices Liz Forbes had made so they could sleep peacefully at night, but they did know her as the Sheriff who was always there, lending a helping hand when she could. She would be missed. Caroline brushed at her eyes, ready to continue when the back door to the church opened and in walked Stefan.

Except she knew it wasn't her best friend, no matter how much they might look alike, and even when he was in his Ripper mode, he had never looked at her with such amused malice. Nor would Stefan have clapped in his current state of mind, but that's what Silas was doing as he walked down the aisle.

"Did she really love the town though, Caroline?" he asked, stopping at the aisle beside where the Mayor sat and Caroline pressed her lips together, refusing to answer him. "After all, she was supposed to be protecting this town from vampires, wasn't she Mr. Mayor?" He looked down at Bonnie's father, who cringed at the words and passed anxious looks at the other remaining members of the council that were present. "And yet she was hiding the fact that her daughter was one to the whole of Mystic Falls."

Caroline didn't reply, kept her focus on the immortal even as the whispers started. "I know I said noon but I thought we could start the game early," Silas continued, taking another step forward before sitting down at the next pew. He looked over at Mrs. Wilkins; the woman had been Caroline's neighbor since she was little. Never hurt a fly. "Be a dear and beat the person next to you to death with that Bible."

Caroline's eyes widened in horror as the old woman turned toward her husband and proceeded to do just that. The others behind them tried to step in to intervene but Silas just smirked. "Sit back down," he ordered, and all of the rest of the guests did just that, even Elena, Damon and Matt. "I've been building up my blood supply, practicing the compulsion thing. It's amazing what I can do with it."

"How dare you," Caroline started, walking down the steps toward him. All of her control seemed to just snap, the lights in the building flickering for a moment before shattering all together, even the sky began to darken, blotting out the sun. She grabbed at Mrs. Wilkins, wrenching the Bible so hard out of the other woman's hands that it seemed to break her wrist. That was all that was needed to snap her from the spell, and she fell to her knees, hugging onto her husband who was barely conscious.

"My mother's funeral," Caroline continued, letting light flow from her and directly into Silas. He nearly doubled over in pain, clenching his stomach as he continued to step back toward the door. The others were able to move again and Elena stepped over the pews, biting into her wrist and feeding some blood to the old man to heal him.

"I won't be playing your games," Caroline told Silas, her light forcing him out of the church and down the steps. The clouds had darkened overhead, thunder could be heard in the distance and seconds later lightning hit the ground near Silas.

"I won't discount that you're powerful," Silas started, straightening himself up and watching her closely.

Those in the church had stepped outside as well, their curiosity getting the better of them. Caroline was just happy that from how the building was angled so that others in town weren't able to see what was transpiring. Though she wouldn't be surprised if they were wondering about the sudden change in weather.

"But you can't control the storm yet. You've barely been a Harbinger for a month, maybe a little longer," he continued, beckoning for some of the crowd behind her to walk down to him.

She knew he was manipulating their minds just as he had done to her, to all of her friends the first time he'd been in Mystic Falls. Caroline narrowed her eyes, forcing herself to focus. He was right, she didn't know how to do everything yet, how to be precise with her new powers or even what her limits were, but like hell did she not have control. There was a reason she was perpetually labeled a control freak.

She sent out her dark light to envelop the bystanders before letting another bolt of lightning hit the ground near Silas. None of them were hit, but she saw the realization in his eyes. He knew she wasn't playing and maybe she didn't' know everything, but that didn't mean she wouldn't use what she did know to the best of her abilities.

Silas flashed up the stairs, grabbing little Emily Blake, no more than nine years old. The girl thrashed in his grip, her parents gasping at the horror of what was happening as the immortal tore into her throat. No one moved though and Caroline had a feeling that he was manipulating their minds to keep them paralyzed in place.

Caroline narrowed her eyes, concentrating as she released more dark light, sending it through the church and enveloping everyone but him with the darkness. She even managed to get it into the little girl, making sure it never ventured near his skin. Silas dropped the gasping girl, smiling brightly for a moment at Caroline before his smile turned to confusion.

It took Caroline a moment to realize what he was expecting to have happen now.

Of course.

All the other Harbingers who had used that kind of power had collapsed afterward. Their human bodies hadn't been able to take the amount of energy they'd put out, needing to rest. Part of her wanted to tell him to go to hell, to prove that she was stronger than those who'd come before her, but another part knew that she could use this to her advantage. If he thought she was drained he'd never expect her to be able to kill him later that day and Caroline knew that Silas had to die that day.

Caroline let herself collapse, hearing Elena's startled gasp and feeling Matt catch her before she hit the ground. "Tell her Coven that I'm going to make good on my threat at noon. Get them to have her give permission for what needs to be done," Silas told them. "I'll be by the Lockwood place in two hours."

He was gone seconds later and Caroline could hear the panic in her friend's voices. They had no idea that she was fine and she waited a moment more, needing to make sure he was gone before she opened her eyes to look at Matt. "Get me back inside the church and then we need to call the others because we are so going to need help in compelling everyone to forget what just happened."

They'd figure out what to do with those who were on vervain because surely the members of the town council were ingesting it. Caroline felt Matt lift her up and bring her back into the church, the others heading back in as well. Some to see how she was doing, others too afraid to venture outside in case the madman was still around.

Damon closed the door as soon as the last person was back inside and picked up one of the stone statues of the Virgin Mary, ripping it from its base and leaning it against the door. "Afraid we can't let you leave quite yet," he addressed the crowd as Elena started calling others on her cell phone.

Caroline could smell the panic that coursed through he crowd, no doubt wondering what horrors now awaited them. She pushed herself up from the floor where Matt had placed her, running a hand through her hair as she looked out at them. They weren't sure how to look at her, these people who had known her since she was a baby. Fear seemed to be winning out, though if it was directed at her or their current predicament she wasn't sure.

Emily was crying, her mother pressing her sweater against the bleeding wound. "I can heal her," Elena offered as she hung up the phone, but the woman pulled back, hugging her daughter harder and looking at Elena with wide fearful eyes.

The door to the church burst open seconds later, the statue sliding a few feet on the marble floor before it fell over, breaking. Klaus and Rebekah walked into the building, Klaus' Hybrid features were in full effect and the screams that erupted through the church were deafening. "Now," Klaus started, smiling at the terrified group. "I suggest telling us which of you is on vervain because I don't think you'll like the process we need to go through in order to find out if you are or not."

He flashed his teeth, obviously enjoying the yells and whimpers that followed. " _Klaus_ ," Caroline chastised, even if she knew he was right. It would go much smoother if they knew who was on vervain and who wasn't, but did he  _have_  to frighten them!?

Klaus was at her side in a second, looking her over and she rolled her eyes at that, turning back to address the petrified group. "We're not going to hurt you," she tried to assure them.

"Well, not very much," Rebekah murmured, and Caroline stared up at the ceiling for a moment, wondering what she had done to deserve this kind of help.

Caleb and the rest of the Coven ascended the stairs then, sounding a little out of breath. "Sorry. Some of us don't have super speed," he said, leaning against the door frame for a second. "We can alter their memories with our magic. Doesn't matter about the vervain for us."

"Where's the fun in that?" Klaus asked, and Caroline glared at him.

"Do it and then get back to the Lockwood place. He thinks I exhausted myself when I used my powers on these guys so he thinks we're vulnerable right now and I say we use that to our advantage," Caroline told Caleb. "We're going to go find Katherine, you guys fix this and then we're ending him."

"Davina will go with you. She knows how to turn the retrieved blood back into actual cure form," Caleb replied as the rest of the Coven walked around the terrified group, positioning themselves to start casting the needed spell. "We'll see you soon."

Caroline nearly walked outside but she stopped, looking back at her mother's casket. "I…" What were they going to do about that?

"I'll make sure she's buried, Caroline," Caleb promised, and she nodded, knowing he would do as he said.

They left the witches, ready to go and find the human doppelganger, when Klaus stepped in front of Caroline, blocking her from continuing. "If he thinks you're incapacitated then you can't come on this part, love," Klaus told her, and for a moment she was ready to protest, except he was right. If Silas saw that she was easily walking around, their advantage would be ruined. "Rebekah will go back with you to the house. Stefan and Jeremy are still there as well. The rest of us will find Katherine and get the cure."

She wanted to be there when Katherine died, to watch the woman who had gotten her mother killed take her last breath, but Caroline knew she couldn't always get what she wanted. And that right now there were more important things than revenge to deal with. "I'll make sure it hurts until the very end," Klaus promised her, his voice barely audible as he looked down at her.

Caroline nodded again, squeezing his arm once before heading off with Rebekah toward Matt's car. "He will, you know that right?" Rebekah murmured as they got inside the truck. "I'm fairly certain he'd do almost anything for you. It's rather disgusting." She started the ignition. "See if you can get him to take us to Milan next. Might as well have a little bit of fun with that power."

Caroline laughed for a moment, but it quickly morphed into a sob. She wasn't even sure why exactly. Maybe it was her mother or the stress of everything. "We're going to make it out of this just fine," Rebekah assured her as she started back toward the Lockwood house.

"We have too many new outfits to purchase not to," Caroline murmured, glancing over at Rebekah.

"Precisely," the Original replied, offering a confident smile.

Caroline looked out the window, watching the town pass them by. They would make it out of it. There wasn't allowed to be another option. Too many had already died. No one else was allowed to do so.

 


	27. Chapter 27

_But there's no you, except in my dreams tonight  
_ _I don't wanna wake up from this tonight_

* * *

It wasn't hard to find Katherine. They had been careful on their journey across the town to the old motel, unsure if Silas would be tracking them, but the immortal hadn't made his presence known. Not that any of them would have been able to notice if he was following them until it was too late. They had Davina with them though and no doubt Silas would sense she was a witch and deduce she was part of the Leseid Coven and the fact that he'd need all of the members in order to get the Veil dropped would probably keep him away. At least for a little while. Or perhaps the immortal was off gloating about his apparent successful takedown of the Harbinger. Whatever the reason they weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Still not good at the whole making friends thing, huh?" Damon commented as they entered the room and found Katherine handcuffed to the radiator.

She glared up at him, ready with her own retort but it seemed to get caught in her throat when she noticed the little witch and Klaus entering the room as well. She had thought this was a rescue mission or at the very least a 'get Katherine the hell out of town and out of our lives' mission. She could always count on the Salvatore brothers to do that, though it sometimes alternated between which one of them would be coming to her aide. From the company Damon was keeping she had a feeling he wouldn't be the one this time. Which left Stefan and considering Silas was walking around with his face on, Katherine had a feeling he wouldn't be coming either.

Klaus stepped forward passed the others and into the room, stopping so that he was standing in front of her. He could smell her fear, hear her heartbeat speed up, even as she tried to not show any of it in her features. He'd need to do something about that. After all the trouble she had given him through the years, putting distance between him and Elijah for some time, ruining his first actual chance at breaking the curse, Klaus didn't want her to think she could escape this time as she had done so every other time. He could see that flicker of hope in her eyes, belief that her time hadn't run its course and Klaus meant to make sure that all she saw was his face when she realized there was no longer any hope for escape.

"What do you want?" Katherine demanded, jutting out her chin in open defiance of him. If she was going to die today, which she was pretty sure was about to happen, she wouldn't do so begging for her life. Not from the monster who had done nothing but make it hell since she had first met him.

"We need the cure," Davina informed her, stepping forward with a small vial in her hands. It was a lot like the original one and Katherine scoffed at it.

"Newsflash it's in my blood. Not gonna fit the entirety of it inside of that little bottle." Katherine thought it was a good retort. Maybe they hadn't realized it was moving all about inside of her. Like Silas had told her, he needed all of it, not just a tiny sip to cure himself. Maybe this knowledge wouldn't hold them off forever if they were so determined to get the cure, but it should give her a little more time to make a break for it. Surely they wouldn't be able to do it in the hotel room which meant they'd have to get her out of the handcuffs and she'd escaped Klaus before-even if he'd just been a vampire then-she had a chance of being able to do it again. And a chance was all that she needed, no matter how small.

Katherine really didn't like the twisted smile that formed on the girl's face.

"I know," Davina replied and lifted a hand in the former vampire's direction. Katherine let out yelp as her body was lifted into the air, one hand still attached via handcuff to the radiator. "Klaus." The witch motioned toward the obstructed arm.

He probably should have simply broken the handcuffs and let her arm ascend without harm, but he wanted Katherine to be in as much pain as possible. So Klaus purposefully snapped her wrist as he removed the handcuff, enjoying the further sound of torment that was pulled from her lips. He ignored Elena's gasp of surprise at it, Damon's mutterings, and stepped back, smiling as Katherine glared at him. There were tears in her eyes, though she was trying valiantly not to cry. He wondered how long it would take for her to break.

"I could make this not hurt, knock you unconscious so you don't feel anything that is about to happen and you'll die as if you were in your sleep," Davina stated, not looking at Katherine as she released the vial and it rose to spin in the air between her and the other woman. She'd thought about it, tried to determine what Caroline would want to have happen, but she also remembered that it had been Katherine who had given Marcel Liz Forbes' name.

Davina hadn't known Caroline when the death had occurred, had only seen the chaos that would unfold through the visions that had wracked the body she shared with an ever growing powerful Marie. Her own consciousness had been slowly deteriorating as the years had passed but it wasn't until she'd hit puberty that the battle within her had truly begun. She had fought for control for a while, but Marie had known all the tricks and had her believing she was still in control even as it was slowly being twisted away from her. Davina didn't know how much longer she would have been able to hold onto herself before Marie took over completely, before the blackouts she experienced killed her. She hadn't even realized what had been happening inside of her own mind and body until the connection had broken, until her death and rebirth.

Caroline had saved her from all of that and she meant to prove her loyalty to the girl.

"But you hurt Caroline and so I want to hear you scream."

She yanked her hand back then and Katherine's arms and legs outstretched, mimicking one of the da Vinci drawings Davina had seen in books before the blood began to seep from her body and whirl in the air around her. It came pouring out of Katherine's mouth, her ears and eyes, out of her nails, and making her look like a grotesque piece of art. Her screams of agony reverberated around the room but that only made Davina twist her hand in different directions, causing the cries to intensify as Katherine's body was twisted in new ways, pumping blood from the woman's veins. They could hear the bones crack, muscle stretched to the limits snapping inside of her and Klaus watched the entire spectacle in awe.

This witch could stick around. He enjoyed her thirst for vengeance and wondered if he could use it against anyone back in New Orleans if they tried to make a move against him. She was loyal to Caroline so it was probably only a matter of convincing Davina that whoever he needed dealt with was out to hurt her as well for the witch to do anything.

He'd need to remember this for later.

There were no tears from Katherine and even her screams had stopped. Her head dipped down to touch her chest, Davina's power the only thing that was holding her upright.

"It's almost done if you'd like to say anything to her," Davina informed them stilling Katherine's body. The fight was gone from the woman, her blood still whirling around her but as it did so it seemed to be changing color and moved toward the vial that had stopped spinning.

"No," Damon muttered from the back of the room. Elena had already left and was sitting in the hallway, not wanting to see the consequences of her forcing the cure onto Katherine weeks ago.

Klaus stepped forward, making sure Katherine was looking at him and he reached out, grasping her chin. "You brought this on yourself."

She'd have spit at him if she was able but all Katherine could manage was a weak glare. "Bastard." She uttered, hating him more than ever. She thought to close her eyes then, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her life leave her body, but it was too late.

"You'll look at me as you die," he compelled, smiling maliciously at her, loving the hatred mixed with fear that he saw there. He watched whatever tendrils of hope she'd still clung to leave her eyes, heard her heart and breathing stop and he stepped back, letting her go as Davina let her body drop to the floor.

Katherine hit the floor with a smack and Davina flicked her wrist again, Katherine's neck snapping as she did so. Klaus' smile widened, looking down at her lifeless eyes for a moment before stepping back. Davina grabbed the vial from the air, putting the top on it.

"That was entertaining," Klaus mused, turning around and enjoying the disturbed look on Damon's face. The vampire seemed to have something to say, but when Klaus arched a brow at him, willing him to speak, Damon only shook his head and looked away. "Shall we?" Klaus motioned toward the door, ready to get back to Caroline and Rebekah.

"What about her body?" Damon asked, his attention drawn to Katherine.

"I'm sure housekeeping will have someone take care of it." Klaus shrugged, it was of no consequence to him. Considering Davina was already heading out of the room as well he had a feeling she shared his sentiments.

There was enough left to deal with instead of wasting time on the body of a woman he should have disposed of ages ago. He would have too if her constant running and torment hadn't delighted him as much as it did, but that game had grown tiresome, and while he truly didn't care for the Sheriff, Caroline had loved her, and it was because of Katherine that the woman he loved was in pain. That was good enough of a reason for him to have wanted her dead, the fact they needed her blood in order to stop Silas was simply an added bonus.

There would be no tears shed for the broken woman he was leaving behind to rot, no passing thought from him, though perhaps he should let Elijah know once Silas was dealt with. It did seem like the brotherly thing to do.

* * *

Everything had to go down perfectly, and since they were in Mystic Falls where no plan ever went off without a hitch, Caroline knew something would go wrong. It was why she'd usually tried to think up back up plans for things that she'd be in charge of, but there was no time for that now. Not with Silas standing on the lawn in the back of the house, waiting for them to come outside and do his bidding. The others were standing near the windows, looking out and trying to assess him without being given away.

That was the other really hard part of the plan. Silas could read their minds. All but her own and once things really started getting underway, Caroline had a feeling that he would definitely be doing that. So the last thing she needed was for all of them to know exactly what her steps were going to be, he could look inside just one of them and know what their plans were, be three steps ahead of them and everything could go to hell rather quickly.

Silas thought she was out of the game, no doubt too weak to lift much of a hand against him, and they needed him to think that for some time. Even if he'd come across Katherine's body by then he wouldn't know they had gotten it into cure form. He might have thought they bled her dry to prevent him from turning back to a warlock. Who knew precisely what he'd think and staying back in the shadows, Caroline didn't really care in that moment what the immortal was contemplating as long as they could still have the upper hand.

All Caroline Forbes wanted was for them to come out of the battle with as many people going in. She knew there would be injuries-there was probably no way of getting around that-but if there could be no deaths that would be enough for her. She looked over at her Coven, specifically at the six who had been chosen to sacrifice their free will in order to paralyze Silas. She knew they didn't see it that way-they saw it as fulfilling their duty-but she couldn't help but worry that they didn't quite understand what it meant to be sired to her.

There wasn't time for regrets though and she pushed away from the wall, still keeping out of sight from the windows and walked over to the Coven. "We know what we're doing," Joanne stated before Caroline could even speak and the other five nodded in agreement. "It's the only way to keep balance and we are willing to take this step."

Caroline nodded her hands began to glow darkly, letting the light pour from her into them. She didn't know what it felt like, what sensations they experienced when the light touched, but unlike with her white light, this darkness brought smiles to their faces. That was something, right? At least she wasn't bestowing pain on them.

"Let's do this," she murmured, letting the light dissipate around her.

The six nodded and left the room heading for the sliding glass door that would lead them to Silas. "Remember they're going to come back," Caleb told her, and Caroline knew he was trying to be reassuring but it fell flat for her. They might come back but they wouldn't truly be the same.

"It's quite useful if you let it be," Klaus pointed out, and Caroline clenched her fists, really not in the mood to hear his thoughts on the Sire bond. "Though I suspect that you'll be using it for far different purposes than I did. No running errands. Not as a little army to do your bidding."

"Or biting baby vampires on your suggestion," she bit out, glancing over at him and she shook her head at his smile. Of course he was proud of that. Though, really, why wouldn't he be? Look at how it had turned out for him in the long run?

"I prefer to do that myself now," Klaus replied stepping up behind her and letting his hand run down her spine. "When you ask me to at least."

She couldn't help but shiver at his touch. "Not now," she murmured, pushing him away from her. She couldn't afford to get distracted and neither could he.

Both of their attentions turned toward the windows again when the witches finally exited the house. This was it. Hopefully it would play out at least slightly how they wanted it to go. Caroline couldn't be near the window, couldn't chance that Silas might notice her before it was time for her big reveal but she could listen. Thank god for vampire enhanced hearing.

"I see little Caroline has made the right choice," Silas stated as the witches came out onto the lawn.

He was surprised by the small number, but rumor of the Leseid Coven being broken down had been circulating through certain circles. It wasn't too surprising that not all of the old members had been a fan of the new Harbinger being a vampire. It would have caused some strife and numbers wouldn't matter. With Caroline's approval they would have enough power to drop the veil and be able to destroy it and he had every intention of seeing that come to pass.

"She is the  _Harbinger,_ " Joanne bit out, stepping forward from the group. "Show her the respect that she deserves."

Silas grinned, enjoying the indignation of the witches. So touchy about those they considered to be all powerful. He'd been that way once back when such things mattered to him, but two thousand years had stripped him of those feelings. Talk of Gods and powerful creatures failed to have meaning once he'd been called both for so many years and so easily manipulated people even as he was trapped on the island. Now all he saw was how to use those more powerful than him for his own purposes. All that mattered was being reunited with his lost love; with destroying all the Qetsiyah had tried to create to imprison him.

"Can we get this started? I have big plans and I'd really rather be out of here before the sun sets." Silas laughed at the further irritation that shown on the witches' faces. They were such an easy bunch to rile at times.

"Gladly," Joanne muttered.

The six witches moved in unison, like it was a perfectly choreographed routine that they were performing. Silas didn't know what the spell was until it was too late; having thought that even if Caroline knew of this particular spell that she wouldn't want to use it. Not with how little there were in her Coven. These ones would die for the spell they were casting, limiting her number greatly.

The paralysis that was rippling through his body wouldn't last forever. What did they hope to gain by this? He watched each of the witches fall to their deaths seconds after he was frozen in place. Their Harbinger would be in that house, helpless for who knew how long. She hadn't used her powers on too many people so maybe it would only be a few days, but the paralysis he was feeling would only last a few minutes at the most, and then he would be free to go after her. Her mind wouldn't be as greatly protected, her body too focused on healing the rest of itself to worry about her fragile mind and that was where he would attack, warping her to his own ends.

By the time he was through with Caroline Forbes she would know what it truly meant to have tried crossing him.

Silas reached out with his mind, trying to push past the chaos the witches' spell was doing to it, tried to grab onto the others in the building and figure out what was going to happen next. But he was too sluggish, too thrown off by what had just happened to realize the attack was coming from the back.

A needle was jabbed into his neck and Silas didn't even need to ask what was being pumped into his veins. He knew all too well what it was. "Seemed fitting that I'd be the one to stab you from the back," Klaus murmured in his ear, and Silas could tell the Hybrid was enjoying this. He'd make certain that Klaus wouldn't be as happy in a few minutes.

Silas still couldn't talk though, the paralysis doing its job and keeping him utterly frozen as the cure worked its way into his body. He could feel the heaviness of immortality being stripped from him, the need for blood leaving him, and oh the power, he could feel that coming back to him. Had they forgotten that before he'd been cursed to live in this fashion that he'd been a warlock? A _powerful_ one.

"Get away from him now," Caleb shouted, motioning for Klaus to move the hell back as he and the remaining members of the Coven headed toward where Silas was still standing. "Make the symbol now."

They couldn't have already poured the salt onto the ground to try and bind him to the spot before he'd arrived. If Silas had seen it he would have known something else was going on and that was the last thing any of them wanted or needed to have happen. They had no clue how long it would take for Caroline's power to kill Silas and didn't want to take any chances that he could end up escaping.

Silas watched as best he could, easily deducing what they were doing even though he could no longer read their minds. It was a reasonable tactic and one he would have done himself if he was in their position, but he wasn't and he needed to come up with a counterattack. Something told him that this wasn't all they had in store for him. They wouldn't gain much by having him be mortal now and while he was certainly killable, none of them were powerful enough to do it. Not without him disposing of them or incapacitating them long enough to get away.

He could feel the paralysis beginning to breakdown but made no move to show it, not wanting to give up that bit of information to them yet. Not until he knew what their master plan was for him. Then he'd unleash a holy hell upon them, break into the house and take Caroline from them. It might take more effort but he was still confident that he could break the new Harbinger to his will. She'd been so easily manipulated only a few months back so he doubted that the ancient ancestral magic that was bestowed on her would change that. Not so quickly anyway.

"We're ready," Caleb called out and Silas's eyes widened in surprise when Caroline walked down the steps toward him. She didn't look weak at all. No one was helping to support her. There was no falter in her steps. What the hell was this? Why wasn't she reacting as all the others had before her?

"Someone has been keeping secrets," Silas remarked, watching her walk up to the outskirts of the circle. He wondered what it would take to get her to cross it.

"It's called trying to have an advantage. Kind of like you with the whole change the way you look thing." Except he still looked like Stefan to her and what the hell was with that? She'd need to ask her friend about that later because she really didn't feel like having a talk with Silas about it.

"You fell for that one a lot," Silas replied, and his smile made Caroline sick. "You should have seen the dirty little thoughts in her mind about you, Klaus. It was so easy to fool her into thinking it was you who came back to see her. A pretty little fantasy she harbored among all the other ones about-what was it? Oh yes, hybrid-vampire sex." He was almost disappointed that Caroline didn't rise to his bait. She simply glared at him from her side of the circle, crossing her arms in annoyance. "Did the real deal live up to your expectations?"

"And then some I'd imagine," Klaus remarked from behind him, arching a brow at Caroline's glare. How was he supposed to ignore the question?

"You're going to kill me now then?" Silas asked, locking his gaze with Caroline's. "Isn't that what you asked him on your deathbed? I've been in your mind, Caroline. I know all of your hopes, your dreams, and your  _insecurities._  How long until you think he tires of you?"

"He's trying to bait you, love," Klaus reminded, watching her closely. If she even so much as took one more step forward he would flash over and make sure she didn't go inside the circle.

"I'm only reminding her of her own thoughts and feelings." Silas walked forward, amused by Klaus' low growl, but he couldn't move past the circle the rest of her Coven had created. "How did it feel to give into your basic carnal desires? You have everyone fooled with that good girl routine, always striving to be perfect, to have control." Silas glanced back at Klaus. "I'm sure she was magnificent when she came undone."

" _Klaus_ ," Caroline warned, sensing he wanted to throttle Silas. "You can't go inside either."

"Shouldn't you be running to the hills by now, Niklaus?" Silas prompted, sending the Hybrid flying backward into a tree. "Do you really think she'd choose you if she truly had to make a hard decision?"

"Stop wasting our time," Caroline muttered, uncrossing her arms and letting the white light surround her hands. This had to be a distraction technique, some way for him to get out of the damn circle and she couldn't believe they were playing so easily into his hands.

"Tell me, why is my death justified and yet this one is allowed to wander free?" Silas asked, nodding back toward where Klaus was rising. "Hardly seems fair.  _Balanced._ "

"He does not want to destroy the Other Side and allow for every dead supernatural to come back to life. To have no possible way to be killed. For that chaos to reign on this world. But you are," Caroline reminded, and lifted a hand to direct the energy into him.

Around her, Caleb, Davina and the other witches who weren't dead fell to their knees, blood seeping from their eyes and ears. She heard the screams of the others inside of the house as well and had a feeling they were enduring the same kind of pain. Other screams met her ears and she wondered how far he was reaching out with his powers. She knew it was a distraction, a tactic to get her to look away, but she couldn't help it, couldn't not worry about her friends. She nearly moved to help them, but no, she needed to focus, it was the only way to stop what was happening to them.

Caroline didn't realize that in turning she'd taken a step backward as well, nearly crossing the line. She didn't see Klaus move to stop her, foolishly going the path of least resistance through the circle instead of around it, afraid she'd end up in Silas' clutches. Instead he was the one trapped in the circle with the madman.

Caroline turned her attention back to Silas, ready to end his life, but her world seemed to freeze as she took in the sight now before her. Silas was still in the circle but and Klaus was with him. The Hybrid was standing and not experiencing the same ordeal as the others. He was simply frozen in place, looking a cross between murderous and confused, gaze locked on her.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked, unsure of what Silas hoped to gain. She could still easily kill him where he stood. Klaus' proximity didn't matter. She'd shown how skillful she was with directing her light when he'd attacked the funeral.

Silas simply smiled and Caroline couldn't hesitate any longer. She pushed the light forward, watching to see if he'd try and push Klaus into the way of it. Silas did no such thing, gritting his teeth through the pain. There seemed to be almost an acceptance in his eyes as the pain seemed to overcome him.

It was only then that she noticed Klaus' skin. He was turning grey, his skin seeming to turn to stone in front of her. "What are you doing?" Caroline asked again, voice faltering at the sight of Klaus.

"It seems fitting. You take my love from me and I'm taking yours from you," Silas told her with a laugh. There was nothing pleasant about it. More so hollow and deadly than anything else. A laugh that was meant to haunt someone.

Klaus tried to fight the spell, to move, to break free from the circle and get away from the madman. He couldn't move an inch though and for the first time in a long time he felt genuine fear. This wouldn't kill him, there was only one thing that could, but it would make him vulnerable, keep him from doing what he wanted. And he couldn't stand how terrified Caroline looked in that moment, the helplessness that seemed to wash over her as she nearly faltered in using her newfound power. That couldn't happen even if it meant that Silas would stop whatever he was doing to him.

There was a part of Klaus that urged him to get her to stop, to help free him from this spell. That constant struggle for his own survival trying to push its way to the front, to save himself and him alone. But he knew that if Caroline stopped doing her own task that Silas would somehow break free from the circle he was caught inside. And if that happened there was no doubt in Klaus' mind that the warlock would go for her, would  _hurt_  her and Klaus couldn't allow that. He'd come to make sure she wouldn't be harmed. Perhaps love was a weakness in that it took away his own self-preservation, but the strength of his conviction for making sure the woman he loved got out of this unharmed quickly battled down his own fears.

"Finish him, Caroline," Klaus bit out before his mouth was turned as well.

Caroline shook her head, hands nearly falling down, almost taking a step over the barrier, but she saw the smile on Silas' face. That was what he wanted, what he probably needed for her to do.

"Caroline, you have to keep going," Caleb urged from the ground, and she forced herself not to look at him, tried not to look at Klaus. His gaze had been on hers but even now his eyes were stone. "Balance, Caroline, remember the balance."

But what about Klaus, she wanted to scream. Was she just supposed to lose him now when she'd finally opened herself up to him? How was that fair? Was this the world's way of making him pay for all he had ever done, for her own hand in bringing Silas out into the world when she'd killed the witch to save Bonnie. Was this what balance was in the end?

Caroline couldn't think like that and she knew it. There was so much more riding on her finishing of Silas than what happened to Klaus, even if it was tearing her up inside. Bonnie's magic on Silas had stopped working once she was dead, right? So maybe that would hold the same now. It had to because she didn't know what she was going to do if it didn't.

"He really does love you. I saw it in his head," Silas told her and Caroline took a shaky unneeded breath before sending a final killing blow of light into the former immortal.

"I know he does." She watched Silas fall back, no longer hearing his heartbeat, no longer seeing the rise and fall of his chest.

He was dead.

And Klaus was still stone.

"Caroline wait!" Caleb shouted, but she ignored him and broke into the circle pressing her hands to the stone that now seemed to be Klaus.

"No," she murmured, not wanting to believe this was happening. "You should be free from this now. His magic shouldn't be working on you anymore." But daylight rings worked long after the witch who made them died. Silas' own curse continued after Qetsiyah had perished.

"He's dead," Caleb commented and for a moment Caroline thought her friend was referring to the Original and was ready to protest it. Klaus couldn't be dead. If he was then she'd be dying. Stefan. Elena. Damon. So many others. It took her second to realize that Caleb was referring to Silas. "We should probably burn him and the others will be waking up soon. They'll need to be welcomed back."

Caroline just nodded, not particularly caring about any of it except maybe the last part. She did need to focus on the witches who would be coming back from the dead soon. "How do we reverse this?" she asked, motioning toward Klaus.

She could hear the backdoor opening, the others spilling out onto the lawn, all wanting to know what had happened. Rebekah's scream echoed in Caroline's head and she knew the girl must have seen Klaus. For as much as the two fought, got on one another's nerves, Caroline knew that Rebekah loved her brother. Seeing him like this must have been a shock.

"What the hell happened?" Rebekah shrieked as she flashed over to Caroline. "Why is my brother like this, Caroline?" She was ready to berate the girl but stopped when she saw the pain and panic on her face.

"Caroline, what happened?" Rebekah asked again, not as loud as before, but Caroline could hear the tremor in the girl's voice and finally looked over at her.

"He said if he couldn't have his love then I couldn't have mine," Caroline whispered, looking back at Klaus, silently willing him to be stubborn enough to break free from whatever spell he was under. He was the invincible Hybrid, wasn't he? A little old witch shouldn't cause him that much trouble.

"You dealt with Klaus as well? Didn't know you had it in you, Blondie," Damon commented from the sidelines.

"Damon," Elena chided, trying to get him to shut up.

Caroline ignored them, turning her attention back to Caleb who was dealing with the body. "There's a spell, right?" she asked, gesturing toward Klaus. "We can fix this?"

"Why the hell would we want to fix this? He finally can't be a thorn in our side anymore," Damon pointed out, and Caroline whipped around glaring at him and ready to pounce. Rebekah held her back, also glaring daggers at the Salvatore boy. She'd love for Caroline to try and rip the annoying vampire to shreds, but he wasn't worth the time or effort, not then at least. They needed to focus on remedying what had happened.

Caleb stepped in between Damon and Caroline, hating what he was about to say. He could see how hopeful she was for good news but he didn't have any to give. "I don't know, Caroline," Caleb told her and she turned back, shaking her head at that information, threading her hands through her hair. He knew that motion, she was frustrated, overwhelmed and he couldn't blame her.

"There  _has_  to be." Because he couldn't stay like that. He wasn't allowed to stay like that. Silas wasn't allowed to have won, not even a little. Hadn't he already taken Bonnie away? He didn't get Klaus as well.

"We'll look into it," Caleb promised, stepping forward and giving her shoulder a squeeze. "But right now, you're not done." He nodded toward the fallen witches who were beginning to stir. "Let's deal with all of this and then we'll figure out Klaus."

Caroline knew he was right. Her responsibilities didn't just end because Klaus was stone, but she had responsibilities to him as well, didn't she? Is this what Silas had been talking about when he said she'd be making a choice? Couldn't she choose both? She wanted both. "Rebekah, get him inside, please." A silent 'and don't let anyone hurt him' passed between the two of them as Rebekah nodded.

"Stefan," Rebekah called, beckoning for the vampire to come help her.

Caroline turned her attention to her newly Sired witches and headed toward them, knowing Klaus would be safe with Rebekah and Stefan. She wasn't sure if the stone was unbreakable or not, but she wasn't about to chance it.

"You can't seriously be thinking of trying to find a way to break that spell," Damon groused, stepping into her path, blocking her from moving around him. "Think about everything he has ever done. How he killed Jenna. He tried to kill pretty much every one of us. Killed Elena. Used her blood to make hybrids. Terrorized us." Of course all he wanted to focus on were the things Klaus had done to Elena but Caroline wasn't having any of it. Yes, Klaus had done some  _horrible_  things, but Damon Salvatore wasn't exactly a saint either.

" _That_ -" Damon gestured toward Klaus "-is a good thing. Use your head, Caroline, not other parts of your anatomy to think about this one."

" _Get out,_ " Caroline demanded, reeling in the urge to send a bolt of white light at him as well. Her face was a mask of rage and she couldn't help the small thrill that ran up her spine at the fear on Damon's face when he took a step back from her. Of course that didn't last long and that bravado that he always seemed to carry was once again around him.

"This isn't your house," Damon replied, smirking at her.

"No, but it is mine," Matt replied, stepping up to stand by Caroline. "And you need to leave."

Damon looked like he was about to make another comment but Elena stepped in. "We're leaving. We need to make sure Katherine's body has been properly disposed of anyway," she reminded him, pushing him toward the door. Elena looked back at Caroline. "I'm…" A mix of emotions seemed to play across her face. "I'll call you."

Caroline just nodded, not sure what say in that moment, and headed over to deal with her newly sired lot. This hadn't ended at all how she had wanted and she was at complete loss on how to fix what had gone wrong.

* * *

Rebekah stepped into the room, not surprised at all to see Caroline at the desk and flipping through another of the grimoires. It had been four days since Silas died, four days since her brother had been incapacitated. Four days of everyone in the house searching endlessly for a spell to undo what Silas had done. Bonnie was asking around on the Other Side, but no one was forthcoming with any details. They didn't even know for sure if there was a spell out there. All anyone knew was that no one wanted to help free the Original.

"You need to rest," Rebekah stated, walking over and taking the book from the girl. Caroline tried to snatch it back, glowering at her. "And we need to figure out what our next step is."

"My next step is the same as it has been since Silas died," Caroline leaned back in the chair, not wanting to have this conversation even though she knew it was needed.

"Elijah called again. They're getting restless. We're needed back in New Orleans, Caroline," Rebekah reminded, setting the grimoire down on top of another stack of them. "The witches and wolves look to you right now and your continued absence is causing a certain amount of distress." Especially because the vampires were growing restless, wanting to see Klaus, wondering when the supposed King would be returning home.

"I'm not going back until we reverse this," Caroline snapped, pushing herself off of the chair and intent on getting another grimoire to search. The others had gone to bed hours before and considering she hadn't slept since Silas' death and the sun was going to be rising soon, she knew she should as well. But sleep seemed pointless. It wouldn't help fix what had happened.

"You might not have a choice," Rebekah pointed out, and Caroline glared at her. She  _hated_  that word. Choice. "My brother has been positioning you as his Queen and the vampires want to meet you, to see you. The witches and wolves need to know you are still on their side."

"I don't care," Caroline grumbled, picking up another book and ready to start looking through it for anything that might help. She did though and that was half the problem. She knew she couldn't stay in Mystic Falls forever trying to find a spell that might not even exist. She couldn't abandon the witches and wolves there, let chaos break out again. What would be the point of any of it if that happened?

She couldn't stop looking though.

"I'll look for now," Rebekah said, taking the new book out of her hands. "I want him back as much as you do, Caroline."

Caroline let the book go, the fight in her to stay up nearly completely gone at that statement. "I know you do," she murmured. "There had to have been another way. He was mortal. We could have just…" What? Stabbed him? Shot him?

"Caroline, no one would have gotten close enough to take him out aside from you," Rebekah reminded, placing a hand on her arm and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Even my brother, the blasted immortal Hybrid didn't stand a chance against him."

"I'm only going to sleep for a few hours." That was all Caroline would allow herself.

"I'll make sure someone wakes you," Rebekah told her, waving her off as she sat down on the couch. "Besides, you can't even read most of the languages in these anyway. What were you doing, looking at the pictures?"

Caroline shrugged-well yes that was what she'd been doing. And if she found anything that looked slightly promising she took it to one of the Coven to look at. She headed off to the bedroom that she and Klaus had shared before everything happened. It was also the place where they had put him while they tried to figure out how to help him.

So much had happened since Silas' death. The Sired witches had been sent away, told to live their lives as they saw fit and to be happy. It wasn't much, but Caroline thought it was their best chance at having a life. She didn't' want them following her around, always trying to please her. Davina did that enough.

There was something about the girl that she didn't quite understand and Caroline wondered if it was the entire trauma she must have endured over the years as the witches died and their powers transferred to her or had the girl's own death caused her to look at things in a particular way. Caroline thought that the young girl saw more than most, not quite like how Jeremy saw ghosts, but something similar to that. Caleb had shrugged when she'd mentioned it to him, just stating that Davina probably had some precognitive abilities that were forming, but Caroline wasn't sure that was all there was to it.

She headed into her room, stopping at the threshold when she spotted Klaus. In the shadows she could almost trick her mind into thinking he was able to move, that he was simply waiting for her to come to bed. That wasn't possible though and she headed over to the bed, kicking off her shoes as she went and lay down on top of the mattress.

The last time she had done so he had been there, holding her close as she fell asleep, fingers threading through her hair. She'd felt safe, loved. Something she hadn't felt since he'd been cursed. "We were supposed to travel, remember?" she whispered, looking over at the statue. "Rome. Paris. Tokyo. Rebekah apparently gets me for Milan." She laughed at the idea of it, thankful it didn't turn into a sob that time, even if the tears were starting to fall. "I don't want to be Queen if you're not there to be King."

Caroline closed her eyes, unable to look at him any longer, and though she didn't want it to happen, sleep came rather quickly.

She hadn't wanted to dream, had hoped to avoid this part of the night. She didn't want reminders of what she couldn't have at the moment. Didn't want to sink into Klaus' embrace when it wasn't real. Didn't want to replay their days in New Orleans or in Mystic Falls. Didn't want to think about her plans for the future.

"Hello, sweetheart."

That voice shouldn't wrap around her as it did, sending heat all through her body as it simultaneously comforted her. She didn't want comfort. She wanted pain; she needed the drive to keep on looking.

"Go away," Caroline murmured from the spot she was sitting. She was in the forest, sitting on a log, and she supposed dream Klaus was there as well. "I don't want to do this right now."

That should have been enough to manipulate the dream into being something else, but she felt him sit down on the log beside her and wondered what the hell was wrong with her brain. Why wasn't it listening to her?

"I take it that you've never manipulated another's dream before?" Klaus asked, and his touch felt  _real_ , even more so than how it usually did in her dreams. "I may not be able to speak to you from my own mouth, but you'll find I'm able to do quite a bit while we're here."

Caroline looked up at that, locking her gaze with his. And there it was that infuriating smugness at his own superiority coupled with worry for her. "It's really you?" Or was this her own subconscious trying to comfort her?

"We need to work on your vampire abilities when I'm free of what Silas did to me," Klaus sighed, cupping her chin with his hand. "While you have fabulous control, you lack the ability to do a number of things to my satisfaction. Such as dream manipulation. And I do wonder about your compulsion skills."

She yanked her head from his grip, pushing at his chest. "My compulsion skills are  _just fine_ , thank you very much," she told him, bristling. Oh, this was really him. Dream!Klaus never annoyed the hell out of her. He was always too busy successfully getting into her pants.

"Your reflexes need work," Klaus continued, easily pulling her back to him. "I think it's all that bagged blood."

Caroline rolled her eyes but curled up on his lap, letting her head rest on his shoulder. " _I think_ you don't get a say in my diet," she murmured, drawing her fingers down one of his necklaces. "I miss you."

"I know," Klaus replied and she elbowed him in the gut. "And while I quite enjoy the way that you pout and frown, stop doing it. It wasn't your fault, Caroline." She started to protest that, trying to push her way out his arms, but he held onto her. "Silas needed to die."

"I could have found another way," she whispered, shaking her head. There had to have been another way.

"He was biding his time, love," Klaus sighed, holding her tighter. "Waiting to find a way out of the circle we had him trapped in. I have no doubt that if he'd done so that he would have taken you with him to warp you to his bidding."

The chaos that would have ensued if that had happened would have been great, the witches hearts ripped out before they had time to figure out what had happened. All of Mystic Falls wouldn't have been spared his wrath. The only one who he would have allowed to make it out alive would have been Rebekah. Klaus would have left a trail of murder and mayhem in his wake until he found her.

"I will find a way to reverse this," Caroline promised.

"I don't doubt that at all. You're quite stubborn when you want to be," Klaus reminded, and she could feel the laughter in his chest as it came from his mouth. "And I will be bringing you to those cities. Rome, Paris and a thousand other places in this world. Don't doubt that, Caroline."

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to hate me right now," Caroline murmured, and Klaus stopped with his gentle caress, unsure what she was even talking about. "I chose killing him over saving you."

"Ah." Klaus rested his head on top of her own, resuming his fingers path up and down her side. The paranoia that usually tried to take over had been reminding him of that countless times since he'd been sealed away. It would have been easy to give into it and while he was unable to move, unable to communicate with the world outside of dreams, he had been able to hear it all.

The devastation Caroline had felt at what had happened, her constant urging to find a cure, her unwillingness to give up on him. And he knew her, she was a persistent little thing. She'd look for a way to help him out no matter how long it might take.

"Sometimes death is only the beginning," Klaus continued and Caroline snorted.

"You did not just say that." He could sound so damn cheesy sometimes. It was the lines. Like 'I fancy you'. How old school had that been?

The dream landscape began to change, fading out and Caroline could hear someone else calling her name. She knew she was being pulled back into the land of the living. But she'd just gotten there. It couldn't have even been an hour. "I don't want to wake up," she murmured, trying to hold onto Klaus.

"You have to," Klaus told her, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I'll see you later, Caroline."

She woke with a start, sitting upright on the bed and blinking as she tried to figure out what had woken her. Her eyes drifted to Klaus first, hoping for a moment that he'd somehow broken free from the curse, but he was still stone. Caroline felt the bed dip down and turned her attention toward the movement, spotting Davina at the foot of it.

"Hello," Davina greeted, moving to sit up by Caroline. "You were having a nice dream. I'm sorry."

Caroline shrugged, not really wanting to discuss that. "It's fine. What's wrong?" Because for Davina to wake her there had to be something going on.

Davina didn't take her eyes off Klaus. "I could do it." She paused, looking up at his stone cold face. "I have the knowledge in here." She tapped her head. "But they say he's an awful man. That he's nothing but badness. Darkness. That he'll swallow you up." Davina looked back at Caroline, frowning and reached for her hands. "I don't want you swallowed."

Caroline shook her head, trying to comprehend what the girl was saying. She was too tired for the riddles that sometimes came out of her mouth. "Klaus wouldn't swallow me whole," she murmured, looking over at him as she replayed all Davina had said. "You know how to change him back, don't you?"

Davina grinned, nodding enthusiastically. "The ancestors told me," she stated. "But I don't think I'm supposed to."

"You  _have_ …" Caroline shut her mouth quickly. She couldn't say that. If she said that Davina would do it just because she wanted her to and she'd be abusing the Sire bond. And maybe it was just one little time but if she could do it once then couldn't she do it again and again until she didn't care how it affected the other person? "I can't make that decision for you."

Well, she could and god how she wanted to, but Caroline knew doing so would lead her down a very slippery slope. This wasn't like getting Patrick to protect Caleb, to protect himself. This wasn't sending the other witches away so they could live their own lives. This was getting Davina to do something she wasn't sure she wanted to do. "You need to decide that for yourself," Caroline murmured, looking away from the girl.

"You love him," Davina stated, watching Caroline carefully.

She did love Klaus. Somewhere along the way he had wormed his way into her heart and soul. It scared her to be able to feel as intensely as she did, and for someone who already felt everything to such a large degree, to have this love come along and completely knock her off her feet, overwhelm her senses to the degree that it had...well it frightened her. Was something she was still coming to grips with and now it might be out of her grasp for who knew how long.

"I do," Caroline told her, watching the younger girl smile.

"I don't know if that is good or not," Davina continued, frowning again. "I don't think that you're supposed to love him."

"What makes you think that?" Caroline asked, unsure why the girl would think such a thing.

"He's a monster," Davina reminded, looking down at her hands. "Marcel was one too, but he protected me. He did horrible things to people. To your mom. But he made sure I was happy and safe." Looking back up, Caroline noted that the girl's eyes looked so much older than the rest of her. She wondered exactly how much Davina had experienced in her short life. "I suppose a person can be a monster and still love."

"I think so." She hadn't for a while, had forced down even the idea of it. Someone who did such terrible things was just supposed to be a terrible person, but she knew that wasn't entirely true.

"I need to sleep it on it," Davina murmured and yawned.

Caroline just nodded, confused when the girl curled up on the bed and was out seconds later. She'd never seen anyone fall asleep so fast. Caroline wiped at her eyes, wondering if she was still dreaming, but no, this felt entirely real. Shaking her head, she pushed herself up and moved to the window, watching the sun rise and wondering what Davina's answer would be.

Even if the girl wouldn't' do it, at least she'd confirmed what Caroline had hoped was true. There  _was_  a counter spell out there somewhere and no matter what she was going to find it.


	28. Chapter 28

_Let the rain  
_ _Wash away  
_ _All the pain of yesterday  
_ _I know my kingdom awaits_

* * *

Caroline knew that teenage girls could sleep for a long time if they really wanted. She'd done it before, though maybe not as often as some considering how jam packed her days had been in high school. Between cheerleading, her other extracurricular activities, and the never ending supernatural chaos that seemed to reign in Mystic Falls over the last two years, sleep was always something she'd put on the back burner. Which had been easier to handle once she'd become a vampire and didn't need it as much as when she'd been human.

It seemed like it was something Davina heavily enjoyed and as much as Caroline wanted to wake her up and get an answer, she didn't feel like upsetting the girl either. Patience was a virtue that Caroline hated, one that seemed to be more trying than any of the others, but it was one she knew that she needed, especially in that moment.

So when Davina still hadn't woken two hours after the sun had risen, Caroline finally headed out of the room and down the stairs. She didn't know what she was going to do if Davina decided against waking Klaus. It had to remain the girl's decision, but knowing there was an answer that was so close to helping him and not being able to use it...she worried that it might drive her mad. And could anyone really blame her if it did?

Yes, she had a ton of responsibilities and Caroline knew that she couldn't shirk those, nor did she want to, but she had a responsibility to Klaus as well and she wasn't about to forget that. No matter how some of her friends seemed to want her to do so.

She spotted Stefan sitting alone as she was passing by one of the rooms and headed toward him. Part of her had expected to see him and be reminded of everything that they had all gone through only days before, to be reminded of Silas and all he had done, but it didn't happen. She only saw her friend, sensed her friend and none of the coldness that she'd come to associate with the dead immortal.

Stefan didn't look good though. He seemed endlessly exhausted to her and Caroline wondered if he was getting any rest. She had a feeling every time he shut his eyes that he was seeing his death again and she didn't know how to fix that, to help him. She had all of this power at her fingertips and she couldn't use it to help her mom, to help Klaus, to help Stefan. Bonnie. It wasn't fair, but that was life, wasn't it? She couldn't save everyone. Unfortunately that included the people she loved.

"Hey," Caroline greeted, hating how hesitant her own voice sounded. She'd seen him a few times since breaking him out of the safe, but had regulated Rebekah to helping him, her attention focused on everything else. They hadn't been alone together in quite some time.

He turned to look at her, offering up a smile that didn't quite work out before patting the space on the couch beside him. "I'm sorry about your mom," Stefan told her as she sat down, watching her carefully. "I don't think I got to tell you that yet."

"Everything has kind of been insane," Caroline pointed out, leaning back on the couch and reciprocating the concerned look. It seemed she wasn't the only one worrying about a friend's well-being. "I'm sorry it took so long to realize what happened to you."

Stefan took hold of her hand then, squeezing it gently. "Don't." He shook his hand. "You had no clue, Care, and you found me in the end."

"Me and Rebekah," she murmured, squeezing back. If knowing he'd been down in the water for six weeks haunted her, she could only imagine what having experienced it for that long was doing to him. "How are you doing? I mean aside from the whole 'oh god setback of PTSD watery thing' that you have going on?" Was that not what she should say?

It seemed to earn her an actual smile though so Caroline figured that was a plus. "Trying to figure out the next step," Stefan shrugged, letting go of her hand. "I think I had it right before Silas snuck up on me. I don't want to be in Mystic Falls anymore."

"It doesn't exactly have a lot going for it at the moment," Caroline conceded. Especially for him. She doubted that Stefan wanted to be around while Damon and Elena acted all in love. Or were in love. "You were going to do a road trip, right? You, Bon Jovi CDs and the open road."

"That was the plan," Stefan nodded, smiling again at the memory. He'd wanted to take Lexi along, but the veil had gone back up and that was no longer a possibility. "You're going to go back to New Orleans."

Caroline nodded even though she could sense it was more of a statement than a question. "So you and Klaus, huh?" Stefan continued. "Well. When he's not in statue form."

"Me and Klaus," Caroline replied, letting the words roll off her tongue. "Don't even ask me how it happened because I don't know exactly how it happened. And like, I know, terrible, horrible and awful things done by him to all of us. To  _you_." Hello, Ripper fiasco of last year anyone? "Hell, to  _me_  too. But yeah." She paused, forcing herself to look Stefan in the eye as she said the next part. "I love him."

And there it was. She might have admitted it to Davina, but that didn't really count in Caroline's mind. Admitting it to herself, to  _Stefan_ , that counted. There was no taking it back once she'd said it out loud. "I just want you to be careful," Stefan told her, and she was so happy not to see the judgment she expected in his gaze. Instead there was concern, which she supposed was appropriate. "I know you can take care of yourself, especially with the whole new power thing that I'm still trying to understand, but don't forget who he is, Care. What he's capable of."

Caroline opened her mouth to say something about that, but Stefan shook his head, not finished with what he was saying. "Just keep him wrapped around your little finger like you've been doing for months now and you'll be fine."

"Stefan!" Caroline hit him in the shoulder, remembering their talk at prom. She couldn't help but join in with his laughter.

"And don't forget who you are," Stefan reminded, growing serious again. "He's got a big presence, but so do you, and knowing you, I'm sure you'll happily go about speaking your mind whenever he does something you don't agree with."

Caroline snorted. She'd already been doing that plenty. "So this means you're not against me finding a way to break him of this curse?" Because she thought he might have been the only one aside from Rebekah who was also pro-curse breaking. The Coven might have been helping but she knew they'd be fine if he stayed as he currently was indefinitely.

"You remember what we talked about before the massacre?" Stefan asked, and Caroline nodded. She'd never forget that day. "The difference between him and us was we had family we could actually trust. Except if he's got you in his corner now, then he's one lucky bastard and finally has that one thing I think he's been wanting for centuries. Someone he can actually trust to have his back."

"He does," Caroline murmured, because she would have it. Though she might rage at him when he did stupid things, try to sway him to make different choices than what were so ingrained into his way of thinking, she'd continue to stand beside him. "I'm going to find a way to free him."

"You're you, Care. You won't stop until you do," Stefan replied, smiling again and she was pretty sure this was the most he'd done so since coming out of the water. "You wouldn't be you if you didn't."

"Have I told you yet how much I missed you?" Caroline asked, shaking her head as she grinned at him. "I know it was only a couple of weeks but seriously, way too used to actual face-to-face or at least voice time. Text messages are not going to cut it if you decide to do the road trip route again."

"Rebekah said something about going to New Orleans," Stefan told her, looking off for a moment. "Think I might take her up on the idea."

Caroline was torn about the idea of that, not wanting either of the two to get hurt and she knew it was a very real possibility for one or both of them. She couldn't exactly ban him from going though...well, she  _could_  but that wasn't who she was and she wouldn't mind having him around. "Just be careful."

With Rebekah's heart. With his own.

Stefan nodded, but before he could speak Rebekah had entered the room, silencing whatever he might have replied. "Elena is here to see you," Rebekah informed the two of them, and they looked at her, wondering which of them the girl wanted to see. "You, Caroline. I'm sure she wouldn't mind seeing Stefan as well. As much as she refuses to admit it I'd wager that she enjoys stringing you and your brother along. It must be quite empowering." At their incredulous looks she shrugged. "Believe what you wish, but I still think she does it on purpose. That innocent act is just that, an act."

"And before you continue to insult my best friend when she can totally hear you," Caroline sighed, pushing herself up off the couch. "I'll go see what it is that she needs."

"Some best friend," Rebekah muttered, moving past her as Caroline headed toward the door. "Don't forget to let the door hit her on the way out."

Caroline shook her head at that, not bothering to answer. "I don't know what any of you see in her," Rebekah continued, and Caroline closed the door, trying to block out the rest of the conversation between the two of them as she headed to find Elena.

It didn't take long, Elena hadn't moved from her spot at the foyer, looking around the area and waiting for Caroline to arrive. She looked nervous and tired. Or was it just that Caroline was projecting her own desire for sleep onto everyone else that she saw? She wasn't sure but offered a small smile when Elena tuned her way.

"Why don't we go in this room?" she offered, motioning toward the study to the left. Caroline couldn't sense anyone else inside of it and had a feeling she'd want to have this particular conversation in private.

"Good idea," Elena murmured, heading over to it.

Caroline closed the door behind them before watching her friend walk around the room. She could tell that Elena had something that she wanted to say and Caroline wanted to give her friend the opportunity to do it. Maybe without interrupting but there were no guarantees to that. "I've found that it helps if you just come out and say it," Caroline suggested, wondering which path they'd go down, the she shouldn't leave Mystic Falls one or Klaus was a monster one. Maybe she'd be really lucky and it'd be both.

"Are you still going to go back to New Orleans?" Elena asked, and Caroline sighed, amazed at how right she'd been in her assessment.

"I have to, Elena." She had a duty to be there, especially with how fragile the balance currently was in the region. And with Klaus in his current stasis the wolves and witches would be looking to her for what to do next. She wasn't so sure about the vampires that had apparently stepped into town wanting to see the Original family, but she wasn't about to let them destroy all that had been fought for. There was no way in hell her mother was going to have died for nothing.

"What about college?" Elena asked, sitting down on the couch. "I thought we were going to get a dorm together. You got our schedules all done. We were going to go shopping for dorm stuff next week."

If summer had gone the way Caroline had planned, that was what they would be doing. Along with Bonnie. Tyler would have come home. She'd never have been told she was a Harbinger. Everything would have been normal...or as normal as life could have been. But that was Life Version 2.0 and she had needed to get rid of it as soon as her great grandmother had bestowed upon her the family legacy. She was on Version 3.0 now and didn't doubt at all that it'd be upgraded to a 4.0 at some point in time.

"I have responsibilities now, Elena. Like you do with Jeremy. I've now got them with a whole city." Which was a bit daunting, but she could do it. Caroline knew she could. "You can still do college. It won't be like we planned but kind of nothing ever really goes how we plan it."

And it sucked that Bonnie wouldn't be there either but Caroline couldn't fix that. "Or don't do college. What do  _you_  want to do with your life right now? You don't even need to have an answer for that right this second. You've got Damon." Who she still didn't really approve of for Elena, but well, it was really her decision who her friend decided to love. "You've got Jer. Matt will be here."

"But I won't have you," Elena pointed out, and Caroline was surprised she wasn't feeling any of the guilt she expected to have then.

"What did you think was going to happen, 'Lena? That I'd be with you forever?" Caroline shrugged.

She'd thought that once, that their little gang of sudden immortals would be together always, their own little makeshift family, but it wasn't meant to be. It was like she'd told Klaus after watching her mother die. Eventually people were supposed to leave the family they had known and go out into the bigger world, to explore it, to see it, and not be shunted to being only what the people who'd known them since birth saw them as, never being pushed to who they  _could_  be. At least that's what she thought should happen and Caroline did feel like staying in Mystic Falls would only end up stifling her.

"You, me, Damon and Stefan," Elena murmured with a sigh. It was a nice dream and Caroline smiled a little at it, but it wasn't a realistic one. Stefan couldn't even be near the two of them without having an episode. And it wasn't like they could stay indefinitely anyway. People would start to notice when they didn't age.

"You can visit," Caroline reminded. "And I can visit you. And we'll Skype and chat and text and everything all the time. But I can't stay here any longer, Elena."

"What about Klaus?" Elena asked, and Caroline leaned against the desk. It seemed she was two for two on how the conversation would steer. "Damon is right. Klaus has done such horrible things, Caroline. Let him be as he is. He can't hurt anyone then."

"It hurts me," Caroline replied, watching Elena's eyes widen at that. "Him being as he is now hurts me. I  _hate_ it. And I know all he's done, but I'm not leaving him like that." She could see Elena ready to protest again, to list out all the things Klaus had done and she didn't want to get into that again with her friend. "I love him, Elena."

"No, you don't," Elena told her as she rose from the couch. "You just like that he gives you attention. Damon and I were talking about it and that's all it is, Caroline. It's just fulfilling a need in you to have the attention you're always craving. Because you didn't get it from your dad after he left and Tyler's out of the picture now and you can't get it from him. And maybe we shouldn't have always pushed you at Klaus to be the distraction, but you have to know that you don't love him." Elena shook her head, adamant about what she was saying. "It's not love. You can't love him. He doesn't deserve love. And he doesn't love you."

If it had been earlier in the year, Caroline might have given credence to what her friend was telling her. She let her keep going, knowing Elena needed to get it all out, but the words weren't affecting Caroline at all. It wasn't just a need for attention. If that had been it she would have fallen for his charms back at the ball. And Klaus did deserve love, not that she expected Elena to understand that, even if it was pretty damn hypocritical coming from her considering who Elena had fallen for.

"He does love me and he does deserve love, Elena," Caroline finally interrupted, not really wanting to continue the conversation. "Or then why does Damon deserve it?"

"Damon hasn't done half the things that Klaus has done," Elena protested her features hardening at the implication.

"He's done plenty, Elena." To her in particular. To others in Mystic Falls. Damon Salvatore was no saint, but none of them were in the end. "Give him a thousand years and I guess we'll see how his nefarious deeds compare to Klaus at a thousand."

Elena shook her head, disgusted with the implication. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"And you don't know Klaus," Caroline replied, walking toward the door.

"I do too! I know what kind of monster he is. I know he'll take what he wants when he wants it and damn the consequences for anyone else. I know he'll kill without a care." Elena walked forward, grabbing onto Caroline's arm and spinning her back to face her. "I know he'll ruin you."

"No, he won't," Caroline promised. Maybe Elena knew parts of Klaus, the only side he seemed to show to the world, but she'd seen more to him. He'd been the one to hold her after her mother died. He saw the girl that she was-the strong, beautiful creature that was full of light-when everyone else continued to see her as the blonde friend who made a good distraction technique. He saw her loyalty and she saw his need for that.

"What do you think is going to happen, Caroline? This isn't some Disney fairytale. You're not the princess who is going to swoop in and save him, change him," Elena protested, nails biting into her arm.

"I don't want to change him," Caroline replied, shoving Elena away. "And god, Elena, of course this isn't a damn fairytale. We're  _monsters._  All of us. Not a single one of us hasn't done something horrible. You tried to kill me. Bonnie."

"My emotions were off!" Elena shouted, stepping back as if Caroline had struck her.

"That excuse won't work forever. You're going to need to deal with it one day. All of the horrible things you did and said to all of us." Because if her friend didn't then the chances of her turning it off again seemed to only increase. "And why you did it. Why you turned it off. You're going to need to face that as well." Because that hadn't been what Stefan had meant when he asked Damon to help Elena.

"I had lost everything," Elena shouted, shaking her head at Caroline.

"I know you did," Caroline replied, remembering what it had felt like to lose her father; how it had felt to lose her mom and know all of her family was dead. "Running from the pain doesn't help though and you're still doing it, Elena. Your emotions might be back on but you're still running from it all."

"Says the one out of the two of us who can't wait to leave Mystic Falls behind," Elena pushed past Caroline. "Damon was right. You're too far gone to be reasoned with." She flashed out of the house before Caroline could say another word.

Caroline sighed, leaning against the doorway for a moment. "She'll calm down eventually," Matt murmured and she glanced over to see him standing with a hamper of laundry. "Caleb is looking for you."

"I'll be there in a minute," Caroline told him, not quite able to reciprocate the smile he offered as she turned away to take a moment to collect herself before heading off to deal with the next fire.

* * *

There had been a time when Elijah had enjoyed being in the company of so many vampires. When his family had gone about turning quite a few and enjoying the spoils of whatever country they were in as they tried to stay four steps ahead of their father. The decadence of the time, the ability to play up the horrors of what they were, so easily able to compel and manipulate the current landowners to inviting them inside, to taking over their dwellings for as long as they saw fit. But as transportation improved, no longer needing to be on a ship for months at a time to travel between continents, his desire to be accompanied by so many of their kind for entertainment purposes had lessened. Companionship wasn't needed for a lengthy journey, nor did they need to have others watching out for their homes around the world when they could travel to them at a moment's notice.

He had grown accustomed to not seeing those he had sired, to only seeing some of the older ones in passing every few decades, to the newer lot having no idea who he was in person, but his family's name being a whisper of horror that could ripple through the communities at times. With only he and Klaus out in the world, the rest of their siblings locked away in coffins, Elijah had learned to enjoy a relative solitude. He had kept tabs on those he wanted and let the rest head into the wind, not caring if they lived or died.

He knew he should have urged Klaus to meet with the vampires who had been ordered to the outskirts of New Orleans before the Hybrid had left. He'd nearly done it after the girls had headed to Mystic Falls, but keeping his brother from doing anything to jeopardize the new balance had seemed like a more important task. And once they had learned of Silas' involvement there hadn't been time for Elijah to remind Klaus of anything.

He hadn't expected his brother to head off to the small town. He'd been so certain that his brother would have come up with excuses to not head to Virginia to help out; keeping himself far enough away from the danger there, but it seemed the feelings Klaus had for the young vampire overrode his own need for survival. Elijah still marveled at the fact his brother had once again dropped everything for the baby vampire. Even more so once he learned Klaus had been cursed trying to save the girl.

And that was something Elijah never expected to see happen. He wasn't even convinced the baby he'd thought was his brothers would have ever elicited that kind of reaction. And then to hear from Rebekah that Klaus had tried to save Caroline, getting himself cursed in the process...Elijah didn't quite know what to think of the situation. It baffled him how the baby vampire was able to bring out such emotions, such instincts from his brother that Elijah had seen Klaus squash down for so many centuries. It was everything he wanted; he simply wished Rebekah or himself was able to reach the Hybrid as the girl seemed to be able to do.

"What is the witch situation here, Elijah?" Pryia asked, breaking him from his thoughts and he looked down the table at the Persian beauty. The others who had been invited, head of the few vampire clans who were waiting on the outskirts of town, also looked his way. "Are they as much of a headache as they were two hundred years ago?"

"Considering their magic is ancestral I doubt it will have altered all that much," Malachi pointed out, not bothering to touch the food that was decked out before them. It was always hit or miss with this lot if they ate or not.

Human food wasn't something Elijah indulged in often, but a well-crafted meal was always something he saw fit to serve at any sort of meeting. Along with wine and glasses of blood. "With everything that was happening you never know how that may have altered," Pryia replied, glaring across the table at the other vampire. "Otherwise why would we have been called to help out? Even though our services were hardly needed."

"I believe you mean  _our sacrifices_  weren't needed," Samael groused from the end of the table, cutting into the rare steak on his plate. "Don't fool yourself into thinking you were anything more than that for Klaus."

"I am sitting right here, Samael," Elijah reminded, looking over his wine glass at the vampire.

"Tell me I'm wrong, Elijah," Samael replied, head held high as he tried not to falter.

"Be that as it may, I will not have you disrespecting my brother in his house." Elijah set down the glass, pleased when the other vampire bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"When will he return?" Malachi asked, picking up the glass with blood. "Something important must have occurred for him to leave behind a city he so recently conquered."

Elijah simply nodded, not wanting to give away anything. "Not even a hint?" Pryia asked, flashing him that dimpled smile that had earned her a turning seven hundred years ago. Coupled with her knowledge of the constellations and myths of her region he had found her to be a source of entertainment for a number of decades.

"When have I ever had a say in what my brother does with his time?" Elijah replied, earning a few chuckles from the lot. "I wouldn't think all of you were so eager for his return considering not all of you will be allowed to stay." His gaze landed on a few of them, already knowing which were more likely to be denied.

"As long as we leave with our heads," Malachi raised a glass at that.

"I wouldn't be so certain that you will," Samael piped up again, malicious smile on his face as Malachi's features grew stony.

"Says the one calling us all sacrifices," Malachi muttered, taking a sip of the blood.

"I know my sire well," Samael replied, before looking back at Elijah. "What I do not know is who this girl is. This  _Caroline_. Her name is being whispered in the corners of the streets."

"You'll meet her when she, Niklaus and Rebekah return," Elijah replied, not entirely certain what his brother would want him to say about the girl. Not wanting to cause her unneeded attention either considering he wasn't sure how those in front of him would react to who she was and what she meant to Klaus.

"They call her  _Queen_ ," Samael continued, and there were a number of gasps at the table, dropped cutlery and one scoff at the very idea of it. Niklaus Mikaelson having a Queen was a ludicrous idea.

Elijah simply nodded and listened to the murmurs at the table. He knew they were all trying to figure out what that meant, who Caroline must have been. "Surely they're mistaken. If anything she's some latest little pet that he'll tire of in a few decades," Malachi murmured, and the others were nodding their assent, some doubtful that it would even last that long. They had all seen how quickly Klaus could grow bored of his toys, especially when he found another.

"I suggest if you wish to keep your head that you do not refer to Caroline like that ever again," Elijah informed them, his voice cold and demanding. He was lucky Niklaus hadn't been present to hear the baby vampire spoken of in such fashion. There wouldn't have been a warning, only punishment doled out to every single one of them for the one vampire's words.

There was a brief silence as they all took in the threat, even more confused about this random girl none of them had ever heard of before. There were so many questions being thrown around that Elijah could hardly keep up and decided not to until Samael broke in again, voice louder than the others. Elijah didn't appreciate his candor at all.

"And what of the werewolves? They are walking around freely. There is one who you have greeting and detaining people at your door. Another few who have been sniffing around our hotels, watching our every move. You even said we're not to lay a fang on any of them." Samael's expression was full of distaste.

"Why are the wolves here?" Pryia questioned, wondering the same thing. "I'd think you want them far from your burgeoning new city. Considering the war we have with them."

"Ah." The sun and moon curse. "I see news hasn't quite trickled out like we assumed it would."

All eyes were on Elijah then, wondering what he was referring to. Surely they had heard of Klaus being a true Hybrid, of him turning a number of werewolves, but perhaps they hadn't. It seemed to be something the wolves had more knowledge of then the vampires at the moment. With how disconnected the vampire community had become he wondered if they knew of Kol and Finn's deaths, or how killing an Original equaled death for any they sired.

It seemed he had some matters to discuss with them.

"Niklaus broke the curse," Elijah informed them. "The supposed Sun and Moon one."

"Then why can I not walk in the sun?" Malachi demanded, his tone rising, forgetting his place and whom he was speaking to at the moment. "That should have changed if we broke it first."

Elijah finished off his glass of wine, intent on reminding the vampire of how he was to speak to him, but Samael was already speaking. "Did you not hear what he said?  _Niklaus_  broke it. The _supposed_  curse. It was never real," the vampire muttered, putting pieces together. "There was never another method for us walking in the sun aside from the damn spelled objects, was there? You used us just as always."

"No," Elijah replied and he was out of his seat before any of them could move. He had his hand pushed through Samael's back, gripping his heart in a second. "You knew there was a price to your immortality, Samael. You just didn't know exactly what it was."

There were mixed reactions from the others, some stared at their plates while others watched with bloodthirsty smiles, wanting to see the vampire's life end. "We were fools to ever place our trust in you," Samael bit out, not bothering to beg for his life. He was tired of the games.

Elijah pulled, yanking out the vampire's heart and let it drop to the floor. He took a napkin from the table and began to wipe the blood from his hand. "Does anyone else have something they would like to say?" he asked, looking out at all of them. They kept their heads bowed and Elijah smiled, pleased with their deference. "Before you start having ideas of plotting my family's downfall as I'm certain some of you have harbored over the years, know that killing an Original kills all of their line. I'm sure some of you have heard tales of some vampires suddenly dying very mysterious deaths over the last few months."

From the startled, wary expressions on their faces he knew they'd heard news from the grapevine of spontaneous deaths taking out entire clans. "I believe dinner is finished," Elijah set down the napkin and headed toward the doorway, finished with the charade of a dinner party. "See your way out."

* * *

"We can't stay here any longer, Caroline," Caleb started and she slid onto the chair across from him at the kitchen table. She'd known this would be the conversation he would want to have, just as she knew he was right. There wasn't any real reason for them to stay in Mystic Falls, not if Davina woke up and lifted the curse or at least woke up and they could safely transport Klaus back to New Orleans. "I need to start the recruitment process. We're vulnerable with this amount of members."

Caroline nodded, ready to agree to it when Rebekah strode into the kitchen, ending her phone call. "That was Elijah. We need to go home today," she informed the two, her tone telling how little she was in the mood for discussion.

"I know we do," Caroline replied, slightly amused by both of their startled expressions. Neither of them had expected her to agree to it. "I just need Davina to wake up and we can go."

"What do you mean?" Caleb asked confused as to why Davina was still sleeping or why that even mattered.

"She told me last night that she knows how to lift the curse but she had to sleep on it before she could make a decision," Caroline told him, avoiding Rebekah's gaze.

"Wake up the little witch and make her fix my brother!" the Original protested, annoyed that Davina hadn't already done so. What were they waiting for? "Isn't she sired to you? Just tell her to do it."

Caroline shook her head. "No. I mean,  _yes_ , she's sired to me but no I won't force her to do it," Caroline replied. She couldn't start down that slippery slope.

"Of all the times to get a case of morals," Rebekah muttered, sighing frustratedly.

"Where is she?" Caleb asked, and their attention turned to the witch. Caroline frowned, not having expected her friend to look so worried.

"In my room here," Caroline replied, standing up and following after Caleb who was hurrying toward the bedroom.

"What the hell is his problem?" Rebekah asked, following along as well.

Caleb entered the room and headed straight to the girl in the bed. Caroline noted that she looked just as she had when she'd first fallen asleep. Hadn't changed position at all. That couldn't be good. But she could hear the girl's heartbeat, saw her chest rising and falling as she breathed. "She's not asleep, she's in stasis," Caleb muttered as he sat down on the bed.

Rebekah let out another sigh and Caroline looked between the two of them. "Okay, someone explain to me what the hell that means to the one who doesn't understand your weird witchy stuff," Caroline urged, knowing she probably wouldn't like his answer.

"She's looking at the outcomes of the future, depending on which answer she gives you it'll have different effects. She's looking at them all. She won't wake until she's done." Caleb sighed again, rubbing his neck. "I was kind of afraid that this would be her gift."

"How long will she be in...stasis?" Caroline looked down at the girl, worried for her wellbeing. "Do we need to do anything to help her?" Would she need help eating? How did that even work?

"Her body is sustained by magic now. You won't be able to wake her until she's ready. And I don't know how long it'll take," Caleb replied, hoping it wouldn't be too long. The longest he'd ever heard of anyone being like this was a month. He really hoped it didn't last for a month.

Caroline sighed, running her hands through her hair as she turned around, trying to figure out what to do. "I didn't know this is what would happen. I just wanted her to have the choice."

"You did good, Caroline," Caleb assured her, and she looked back at him. "This isn't a bad thing. It won't hurt her. It'll happen to her quite a bit really. We'll just have to watch her after this so she doesn't try doing it every time there's a decision to make."

"It's actually quite useful if she gets trained in it properly," Rebekah informed her, glancing over at her brother. No doubt he'd enjoy learning of the girl's abilities. "It's not common in witches either. I wonder if it's a side effect of all she's endured or if she was born with it. I suppose we'll never know considering all that happened to her."

"Her sisters had their own abilities so I wouldn't be surprised if this type of precognition was her own," Caleb explained, remembering he'd been told about Sophie and Jane-Anne's powers by his grandmother.

"Can we safely move her? And Klaus…" Caroline looked over at him, frozen in place. "Can we move them both?" Because they might be needed in New Orleans but she really didn't want to leave either of them behind. She really didn't know if she could.

"If we were flying on commercial jet I'd say no because we couldn't explain it, but since we'll be using your jet, we can do it," Caleb replied, standing up.

"I could compel anyone anyway," Rebekah pointed out, and Caleb shrugged, not really wanting to get into an argument about it. Was she going to compel the entire airport?

"I'll go let the others know to get ready, pack up the grimoires and we'll find a crate that we can put Klaus in," Caleb continued, glancing over at the Hybrid. "Good thing is his statue is invulnerable so he won't break. He'll just be a pain in the ass to move." He didn't particularly care if the Hybrid would have been vulnerable or not, still not liking him one bit, but he knew Caroline did and had a feeling that losing Klaus would be another blow she really didn't need to endure after all the others she'd experienced.

"And while they get everyone ready, you and I are going to have long talk about the vampires we're going to meet. Their strengths, their weaknesses, and certain customs I don't expect you to know considering who you used to hang around with," Rebekah told Caroline, looking her over for a moment. "We'll work on your clothes later."

Caroline was ready to protest, her clothing was  _just fine thank you_  but Rebekah had already headed out of the room and starting to talk about the vampires. Sighing, Caroline followed after her, wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into.

* * *

"Be careful with that," Caroline yelled as she watched the crate that held Klaus get lifted off the jet. Caleb may have said it wouldn't break, but that did little to settle down her nerves. What if he was wrong? What if they dropped the crate and Klaus shattered into a million pieces? What then? How did that work? Would he be freed of the curse and just lay scattered in a million pieces? Did they reanimate?

Her head hurt from the thousands of questions she seemed to be coming up with.

"He's fine, Caroline," Caleb tried to assure her as they headed across the pavement and toward the airport doors that they were being beckoned toward. Davina was situated in a wheelchair, looking as though she'd fallen asleep in it and no one was questioning that. Not that it mattered if they did. Rebekah was more than happy to compel a person here and there to continue up with the charade. Caleb had to admit it was a mildly useful technique.

"She'll be coming with us to the house," Rebekah instructed, pointing toward Davina who was being pushed by one of the remaining Coven members. "Nik will be delivered there as well. The rest of you are free to do as you please. I don't really care what happens to you now."

Caroline arched a brow at that, wondering when the hell Rebekah had decided to take charge. Not that she minded terribly in that moment. Caleb and the others had their own plans anyway and would be heading back to the Harbinger place. "Except for you," the Original smiled at her, linking their arms in a move that reminded Caroline a bit of Klaus. "Family and all."

It took Caroline a moment to realize that Rebekah was referring to her as family. What? She wasn't ready for that. Not that she didn't like how their relationship had developed in the last few weeks, but she'd really appreciate one of Klaus' annoyed glares directed at his sister right about then. "Rebekah," Caroline started, and she looked helplessly over at Stefan. The Salvatore had an amused smirk on his face so she knew he'd be absolutely no help.

Damn him.

"There's Elijah," Rebekah sighed with relief at spotting her older brother standing near the doorway waiting for them. She let go of Caroline and headed toward him. "Tell me that you remembered to bring it."

"By the way, you suck," Caroline muttered to Stefan who bumped his shoulder into her. At least he was smiling. She needed to focus on the fact that he was smiling.

Elijah held up the travel dress bag, still unsure why he'd needed to retrieve that particular garment but he hadn't wanted to fight with his sister over something so trivial. "How was the flight?" he began, looking at Caroline before glancing at the rest of their small group.

"She'll talk after she's changed," Rebekah interrupted, practically dragging Caroline toward the nearest ladies' room.

Caroline dug her heel into the floor, yanking her arm back. "What the hell has gotten into you?" she demanded, not about to go another inch with the hyper Original. "Did you have funny blood or something?"

Rebekah let out an exasperated sigh. "Did we not discuss who you'd be meeting on the way here?" she asked, motioning toward the bathroom. Caroline nodded, still not sure what that had to do with anything. "They're going to learn of who you are to Nik and I will not have them thinking you're a hobo."

"I do not look like a hobo!" Caroline protested but followed her into the bathroom. One thing she had always took pride in was her style. Who the hell did the vampire who'd been locked away for like a century think she was anyway? She knew more about the current style trends than Rebekah did.

"You're wearing a summer dress from some tiny boutique in Mystic Falls and while it's rather quaint it doesn't exude the air you're wanting to give off," Rebekah told her, handing her the garment bag and ushering her toward a stall. "I'd have preferred if we'd been able to go to Milan for this as I had planned, but Niklaus always delighted in ruining my fun."

"I really doubt your brother purposefully got himself cursed just to screw with you, Rebekah," Caroline murmured, hanging the bag up on the hook so that she could unzip it.

"You'd be surprised at the measures he'll take to get out of a shopping trip," Rebekah sighed, moving to the mirror to inspect her makeup. "That's from the clothing Nik had picked out for you. It's your style, just with more tasteful pieces that exude a queenly state, not little miss sunflower or whatever you were."

"Miss Mystic Falls," Caroline grumbled, glaring at the stall door as she changed.

"Once Nik is back to his usual annoying self I'm going to kidnap you for a day of shopping," Rebekah continued, touching up her makeup. Caroline shook her head, figuring it was best not to interrupt the girl at the moment and let her continue on with what she was saying.

Caroline focused on the dress in the bag instead. While it was a sundress as well, there was something about the fabric, about the stitching that had been done on it that just seemed to scream craftsmanship. She removed her own dress first before taking the new one out of the bag and unzipping it, blinking when she saw the Reiss tag embroidered on the inside. Apparently she was going to need to take a look at what was in her New Orleans closet once she got a chance to actually breathe again.

"Do you think he'll stay?" Rebekah asked, breaking Caroline from her reverie. Caroline exited the stall, tilting her head in confusion at who Rebekah was referring to. "Stefan. Do you think he'll actually stay? Not that I care what he does. I only agreed to him coming here as it seemed like you'd like him around."

"I think...he's still in love with Elena right now," Caroline told her, watching the other girl's expression fall for a brief moment before she exuded indifference again. "But I think with time he won't be. And that's a lot coming from me because I so used to be like Captain of the Team Stefan and Elena are True Love ship but well, she made her choice." And Sire bond or not, it hadn't been Stefan. "Just be careful."

"I won't hurt him," Rebekah told her, huffing a little at the idea of it.

"I don't want you hurt either," Caroline told her, earning a small smile from the Original.

"I'm sure we've made them all wait enough for us by now and you're looking much better so let's go and make sure Nik's little kingdom hasn't crumbled to dust already," Rebekah suggested, and Caroline shook her head, unable to keep from laughing as Rebekah pulled her out of the bathroom to rejoin the others.

* * *

Davina awoke with a start, sitting up in the bed and breathing rapidly as she looked around the room. She wasn't where she had been, the room was much too different and the sounds she could hear reminded her of the chaos of the city not the tranquility of the small town. She closed her eyes, rocking slightly in the bed as she listened to the world around her, breathed in the familiar scents and knew she was back in New Orleans. For a moment she wondered if she was back with Marcel, if everything had been a twisted dream, but the room wasn't hers and she knew that Marcel was dead. The witches who had destroyed her chance at a somewhat normal life were dead as well.

She had a task to do and she meant to make sure that she did it.

She needed to find Klaus, to do what must be done for the best outcome to happen, and hoped not everyone would despise her for her actions. Not everyone would end up agreeing, some would probably hate her, but it was the right thing to do Or at least the one she believed was right. The best outcome for the one she cared about anyway. Davina looked around the room, wondering where the door was located but found Klaus instead, frozen in place as he had been when she last saw him. He looked so vulnerable, even though she knew from her journey that he was anything but that. How many would give their lives to be in this position, to have an opportunity to end the immortal's life? Or at least keep him from ever hurting another again?

Pushing herself up off the bed, she headed toward him, listening to what was happening in the rest of the house as well. There were voices she had never met, but seen in her dreams as she walked the lengths of time, trying to determine which road was best traveled. She didn't like those voices or what they meant for Caroline, not one single bit. And if they were already here that meant they might have already met the girl and started them down a path Davina didn't want to see occur. One she wouldn't allow to come to fruition.

"I don't like you," she told the statue as she started pulling in the energy she needed to perform the spell. "You're going to hurt many people. Kill so many people still. But you'll protect her, love her, and help her become who she's supposed to be. They'll fear you and love her. I think it's called yin and yang. I don't really remember. I don't care. I just know that you being out of this spell is better for Caroline."

Davina tilted her head, regarding Klaus with a wicked smile. "I'd say I'm sorry for how much this is going to hurt, but we both know that's a lie," she murmured before she began the spell, watching as the stone chipped away, leaving flesh behind. She hoped he screamed.

 


	29. Chapter 29

_For you I'd burn the length and breadth of sky_

* * *

Caroline gazed down at the dress Rebekah had picked out for her, the one draped over the large bed that belonged to Klaus. When they had returned to New Orleans she'd expected them to go to the townhouse they'd been in since Marcel had stumbled upon her Coven, setting off the events that had led to everything that had happened. Caroline was conflicted about if she would have rather been at the other house, she had made some pretty nice memories in it but it was also where she had learned of her mother's death.

Elijah had moved everything back to the original place, the one that Klaus had decorated for each of them, his siblings and for her. There was no denying that now and Caroline knew it. Every little detail in the room had been painstakingly chosen because it suited her. From the curtains that hung against the windows to the detailed lampshades that decorated the lamps beside the bed. It was meant to help her adjust to living with the family, a private little oasis for her to go to when she needed a breather from the siblings and Caroline had a feeling she'd need one of those every so often. The framed sketches on the wall that she hadn't paid much attention to the first time she had been in the room revealed scenes of Mystic Falls and of monuments she knew from around the world. Even the bookshelf held copies of the books she had in her old one back in Mystic Falls. Some of them brand new copies, others like the Jane Austen novels far older than any version she had ever laid eyes on.

It simultaneously brought a smile and hurt to know Klaus had put that much effort into the room. It also strengthened her drive to break him free from the curse he was under.

As much as Caroline did like the room that he had decorated to her own tastes, she didn't want to be in it. There was a door that led to his room from her own and she had found it within moments after Rebekah had left her to put her things away. She'd entered Klaus' room and hadn't been able to leave it. The room smelled like Klaus, felt like him, and Caroline had wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by his presence.

There was no telling when she would actually see him again. Dream instances just didn't quite cut it. She also didn't know when Davina would wake up and even if the girl did wake, it didn't necessarily mean that she would uncurse the Hybrid.

Caroline couldn't even contemplate what eternity would be like if Klaus remained in his current state. She  _wouldn't_  think about it because it wasn't allowed to happen. If Davina didn't do the spell then Caroline would simply need to find the spell for herself and get another witch to do it. Maybe Klaus deserved being stone, to be unable to do anything to hurt people again considering all the chaos he'd caused, all of the hurt he had doled out through the centuries, but Caroline wanted to be selfish this one time.

She'd lost her mother. Bonnie. Her relationship with Elena was rocky at best. She wouldn't lose the man she loved too. She  _refused_  to allow it to happen.

Caroline ran her fingers along the black material, small black jewels were embroidered here and there on it, and she pursed her lips as she looked down at it. While Caroline knew it was one that Klaus had purchased for her and that Rebekah had painstakingly spent time picking it out for her to wear, Caroline didn't feel like it was the one she was supposed to wear.

Holding it up to her body, she couldn't deny that it would look fantastic on her, highlighting her curves perfectly, accentuating her pale skin and making her seem almost otherworldly, which was probably what Rebekah was going for, but she didn't like it. The dress didn't feel like  _her_  but she didn't exactly have time to go shop for a new one and the others in her closet hadn't seemed appropriate at all for what she was getting ready to attend.

She was going to be meeting the other vampires, the ones that Rebekah kept on telling her about, Elijah continuing where Rebekah had left off once they were with him again. They couldn't help but stress that this was a big occasion and that the other vampires were going to be scrutinizing her as soon as she walked into the room. She'd learned that there were already whispers of her being Queen around the Quarter, which wasn't too surprising considering the wolves had been acting as though that's who she was since pretty much the day she met them.

It was enough to give a girl issues and dredge up some very old insecurities that Caroline could feel trying desperately to come to the forefront of her mind and overtake her, and that would really not be good. She pushed up off the bed before they could try and take hold again, walking over to the dresser where she'd made space for her own clothes, and set about getting dressed. Technically they would all wait for her and...well, actually, no, she was pretty sure they could all just wait for her to be ready.

She needed different shoes than the ones Rebekah had picked out and headed over to Klaus' closet, confident one of the pairs she'd taken from the other room and placed in the expansive walk in would work. It was only then while contemplating which pair would go best with the black dress on the bed that Caroline caught sight of the gold number tucked away in the back of Klaus' closet. She headed over to it, smiling immediately at the way it shimmered in the light, enjoying the sweetheart neckline as she removed it to get a better look at the gown.

Caroline knew that Rebekah had picked out the black dress from all the ones Klaus had bought for her because it was something that was deemed queenly, that it met with the notion of the darkness that surrounded their kind and if she was going to be Queen of it then she should look the part. This still didn't sit well in her stomach, twisting it in ways she hadn't felt since she was human. Caroline couldn't help but think of Klaus' own words, always telling her how full of light she was, and she didn't think that she was supposed to be swathed in black, even if she did really like the swooping back of the black number.

She'd gone into the war wearing her own style, liking the contrast of her in white as they took on Marcel's lot and later the witches. She figured that this scenario was also a war and if she was going to be walking into the battle with unknowns then she should at least wear something she felt comfortable in, something that  _she_  thought made her look and feel regal. Not to mention if Klaus had it in his closet there had to be a reason for it. Caroline had a feeling it would fit like a glove. Just like all of his other dress choices for her.

Thirty minutes later and Caroline was applying the finishing touches to her makeup, pleased that her hair was staying up how she wanted, wide ringlets of curls draping along the sides of her face. It'd probably come undone some during the night, but that'd only lead to some messy curls spilling out and if she remembered how she looked after the Mikaelson ball, it wasn't a bad look for her.

"That is  _not_  the dress that I picked out for you," Rebekah noted as she walked into the room, eyeing Caroline carefully. She couldn't quite make out the dress, didn't have a clue where it had come from either. There definitely hadn't been that sort of color in the array that she'd found in Caroline's closet space and she doubted the girl had brought it from Mystic Falls. The craftsmanship was far too good to have come from one of that town's little boutiques.

"I found it," Caroline told her, clasping the bracelet to her wrist.

She still couldn't believe she had found it in the vanity when she'd been looking for a few odds and ends, thoroughly amused that it had been stocked with all the various shades and tones of makeup that she used. Klaus certainly had earned himself the title of Stalker in order to know all of that. There were a few other pieces of jewelry inside of one of the drawers as well, necklaces, earrings and rings that she didn't want to break out yet. Not until he actually gave them to her.

But the bracelet, that was hers. Even if she had thrown it back at him all those months ago.

That she could wear.

"Where in the world did you happen to just find a dress?" Rebekah asked, wanting this mystery solved before they headed downstairs.

Caroline finally rose from the chair, placing down the lipstick as she nodded toward the closet. "Since it fits like a glove, I'm gonna guess it was for me," she told the other girl, inspecting herself in the mirror. "And if it wasn't, welp, its mine now." She finally turned her attention to Rebekah. "And you look like nice."

Rebekah huffed at the comment. "Magnificent," Caroline amended, trying not to laugh as the Original brightened up a tad at the compliment. For all of her years on Earth, sometimes Rebekah was still very much a teenage girl. "I'm guessing everyone is already here?"

"Of course, but we're allowed to be fashionably late. It's pretty much expected at this point," Rebekah told her, looking Caroline over now that she could really see the dress. "And that-" she motioned at the length of the other girl "-is very you. No doubt Klaus had it picked out specifically for this occasion."

Caroline rolled her eyes at the implication. "He couldn't have known this would happen." It was impossible. There was no guarantee that she would've been staying in New Orleans. Hell, before the whole Harbinger business there was nothing that would've led her to the city as soon as she had gone.

"Not at this exact time, but if you think for a moment that he hasn't planned for the time he'd be able to show you off to the rest of our kind…" Rebekah shrugged, knowing her brother would have planned for such an eventuality. No matter how long he might have thought it might take to actually come to fruition.

Caroline nodded, unable to put up a rebuttal. Klaus would have planned for such an eventuality and she knew it. She doubted he had thought it would have happened as soon as it did, probably under the impression that it would actually take her that century to end up at his door. Truth be told, if someone had tried to tell her even a month ago that this was how her life would be, Caroline would've laughed in the person's face. Klaus and she had been forming a friendship, and she knew she could call on him for help, but she never in a million years would have thought she would give name let alone act on her feelings for the Hybrid.

"Now remember," Rebekah started, smoothing out her own dress as she glanced at herself in the mirror. "You may only be what-a few years old?"

"Huh?" Caroline furrowed her brow before realizing Rebekah was talking about her age in vampire years. "Like one and a half."

"You haven't been a vampire for even two years yet?" Rebekah asked, looking incredulously at her. Caroline shrugged. "Considering your control I thought it had been a bit longer than that. It's even more incredible now that I know for how little a time you've been turned.  _Anyway_ , as I was saying, you may be an infant-" She smirked at Caroline's pointed glare. "-but you're above all of them. Don't forget that. Do  _not_  let them forget that."

"Are we saying anything about me being…?" Caroline wiggled her fingers, wondering if that was something she was supposed to try and keep under wraps.

Rebekah shrugged. "Don't go out of your way to mention it, but I'm certain they'll eventually learn about it. I doubt the witches will keep that to themselves."

It might not even be said to out who she was, but more as a warning if a vampire tried to hurt one of them. Of course that only really mattered if the vampires even knew what the Harbinger could do. Though, Caroline supposed that since most of the vampires she was about to meet were closer in age to the Originals that they might have more knowledge than Stefan or Damon ever seemed to have about the supernatural world. Even the Salvatore boys would be considered to be considered children compared to the vampires waiting for them.

"I wish Nik was here to present you," Rebekah murmured, glancing down at the bracelet on Caroline's wrist. She remembered it, how Klaus had tucked it away after the ball, glaring at her when she questioned why it had been taken out of the vault. She hadn't even been able to tease him about thinking of giving it to Caroline, of even inviting the girl to the ball, because he'd already been too moody. "Honestly, I wish we didn't have to do this at all. They're dreadfully boring vampires."

The ones she had found even mildly amusing had died over the centuries, madness usually leading to their end in one way or another. "These ones are all Nik and Elijah's little protégés," Rebekah informed her as she started for the door. "The ones you'll want to watch out for will be Nik's ones. They never did like to share his attention. Which is hilarious considering he hasn't doled out attention on any of them in centuries."

"What about yours?" Caroline asked, following after her. Surely Rebekah had turned some people in her time.

"Mine were lucky to make it past transitioning," Rebekah replied, her expression hardening for a moment. "Nik never approved of any of them. Honestly, Stefan is lucky that Klaus only had him forget me instead of ripping his heart in the Twenties."

"Are you two ready? Elijah's getting antsy," Stefan informed them from the other side of the door, offering up an awkward smile when Rebekah opened it.

Caroline hadn't been sure if Stefan was up for coming to the gathering, though she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth for the turn of events. It'd be nice to have someone else she considered to be a friend and who didn't have any clue about the other vampires accompanying her. "I thought we were all wearing black?" Stefan continued, looking over Caroline. "Not that you don't look nice, Care."

"I like this one better," Caroline offered up her own smile as she watched him, trying to get a gauge for how he was feeling. "Are you sure you're up for this?" The last thing they wanted was for him to have an episode in front of the others.

"He'll be fine," Rebekah stated, adamant in her belief. "Elena and Damon aren't present to be constant little reminders of how awful they are and all that he endured."

"Rebekah," they both started but the Original simply strode past them, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"Let's go," Rebekah ordered, heading toward the stairs.

Caroline glanced over at Stefan one more time, ready to tell him he didn't have to go, that he could go back to the study or anywhere else in the house and just relax or whatever he needed to do. He shook his head, his expression almost mirroring Rebekah's in determination and Caroline had a feeling that this was a test for him, to prove that he could handle it. "Don't think you have to stay the whole time," she whispered as they followed Rebekah down the stairs.

The three were headed toward the backyard that had been set up for the small banquet that Elijah had prepared. Caroline could hear the jazz band playing, conversations occurring between those already outside, and braced herself for everything. It wouldn't be that different than when she had showed up for cheerleading practice after having won the position of cheer captain. Only this time instead of ruthless teenage girls, a number of whom had also tried to obtain the same coveted position watching and judging her every move, it was just a group of vampires, just as ruthless as those girls but in very different ways.

She wasn't about to let them frighten her or see how nervous she was feeling under her carefully crafted exterior. They might have been playing the game for far longer than she had, maybe even some of them had perfected it along the way, but that didn't mean she couldn't hold her own. After all, she'd won the heart of the most fearsome creature on the planet in less than a year-and not as some mere dalliance, not a prize to be won, used up, and then tossed aside when he grew bored of her. Caroline wasn't stupid, she knew those he had turned had probably heard versions of flowery sayings or threats, something to get them to follow him as they did even centuries later.

Klaus had tried flowery sayings on her, tried the gifts, the offering of the world to her but she'd shot him down each and every time. Perhaps that had been what intrigued him, though she was certain there was more to it than that or he could have compelled her to get what he wanted long ago, but Caroline was confident that Klaus would still be at her side in another thousand years. And thousand after that.

Could any of the rest of them say as much?

"Excuse me," the werewolf at the front door rose from his spot as they passed him in the hallway, heading toward the backyard. Caroline stopped; certain he was trying to speak with her. From the relief in his eyes when she looked his way she knew she was right in that assessment. "There are some people here to see you."

"Tell them they'll need to come back tomorrow," Rebekah told him, grabbing onto Caroline's arm to steer her in the direction they needed to head.

"It's urgent," the wolf insisted, cowering slightly at the look Rebekah directed at him.

"We're supposed to be fashionably late, remember?" Caroline reminded, extracting herself from the Original's grip. "Where are they?" She knew better than to ask what the urgent matter was right away.

"I brought them to the study," he told her, heading that way and Caroline followed after, Stefan and Rebekah on her tail.

"There is fashionably late and then there is being rude and you know Elijah will be terribly upset if we fall into the latter," Rebekah sighed, making a mental not to deal with the wolf who was their current doorman later.

Caroline ignored her and headed into the room, arching a brow when she spotted Cristiano, Klaus' right hand werewolf waiting in the room with a few others. They tensed upon seeing Rebekah and Stefan, watching the two warily before their gazes settled on Caroline. They seemed to ease up just a bit with her presence, bowing their heads to her in greeting.

"What's wrong?" she asked, because there was no way they would be there that night, not with so many vampires in the vicinity, unless something was terribly wrong. A werewolf's bite might be fatal to a vampire even if it wasn't the full moon, but a vampire could easily kill one before that happened, and considering how many were at the house that night she couldn't see the wolves coming by to idly chat. "This is Rebekah, Klaus' sister, and Stefan, he's my friend. You can speak in front of them."

Cristiano looked over the other two vampires one more time before nodding slowly. He didn't trust them, even if Caroline did, but he did trust her. "Klaus has us watching the vampires-the ones here that are set up on the outskirts of town," he started, and Caroline nodded, motioning for him to continue. She'd known that much already. "A couple of our weres have gone missing and we picked up on a scent at each place where the wolf was last seen." He nodded toward the doorway. "It belongs to one of them."

"Let me guess, magnolias and death?" Rebekah asked, sighing dramatically again when Cristiano nodded, wondering how she had known that already. "He always did have penchant for taking wolves to torture. I doubt Niklaus expected him to do so when he wasn't allowed in the city limits without permission and that pesky little rule of not killing any of you, but Malachi was never one to explicitly follow orders when Klaus wasn't around."

"You know who it is then? Tell us," Cristiano demanded, and Caroline shook her head, holding up a hand when Rebekah stepped forward, ready to break the wolf for daring to speak to her in such a way.

"Listen you little," Rebekah started, fangs descending in a moment.

"Bekah," Caroline urged, not sure she would even be able to stop the Original from snapping Cristiano's neck if she really wanted. The other wolves were up from their spots on the couch, ready to try and defend their leader. "Okay, no. Everybody simmer the hell down. We do not have time for infighting. We have this lovely little gathering to go to. Apparently the vampire in question is there as well and we'll deal with him. Do you think the wolves he took are alive, Rebekah?"

The Original shrugged, still glaring daggers at Cristiano. "It's possible. Going in and yanking out Malachi's heart won't do much good though. He likes to play with them and he can't exactly do that in a hotel room so he'll have a place set up for that. You'll need to learn that before the heart ripping occurs." Rebekah shrugged, not that she particularly cared if the wolves were found or not.

"Let us talk to him," Cristiano started.

"We'll get the information," another wolf spoke up.

"He'd break each and every one of you before you took a breath," Rebekah replied, laughing at the absurdity of it. "Marcel was barely two hundred years old, his vampires around him less than that, and he managed to run you all out of town with such ease. Malachi is nearly reaching nine hundred. You wouldn't stand a chance and all that would do is lead to more dead wolves. And not even in your wolf form to make me a pretty little coat."

Caroline closed her eyes for a moment, mentally counting to ten. Seriously, all of the Original siblings really enjoyed testing her patience. It had to be in their genes. "We'll find out where they are, keep him sequestered here and send you the information so you can get them out and healed." Because she could only imagine the torture that might be happening.

Caroline might not have always had the best experience with werewolves-especially when it came to torturing her-but the New Orleans' ones had never been anything but courteous to her and she saw how they looked at her, the loyalty that they gave her and she wasn't about to ruin that.

"And then he'll be dealt with?" Cristiano asked, watching her carefully.

"He won't live the night," Caroline replied, and the wolves nodded, seeming to accept that from her. "Give Stefan your numbers so we can contact you." Her own phone was upstairs and she didn't have anywhere to hold it at the moment.

Caroline turned to leave the room, Stefan programing numbers into his phone as Rebekah followed after her. "The others won't appreciate you killing one our kind," she mused, not that she particularly cared if Malachi lived or died.

"The wolves are under my protection, so are the witches, and the vampires will be as well if they stay and don't harm the others," Caroline reminded. "And you said it yourself; this one doesn't follow the rules if Klaus isn't around to make sure that he does. And he already broke it. He has to deal with the consequences of his actions."

She knew that there would be deaths; mostly human considering their blood was what the vampires needed to survive. But snatching werewolves to torture wasn't something she would allow in the city and she would make sure the other vampires knew that she meant business before the night was over.

Rebekah linked their arms together as they headed toward the backyard. "Don't forget to smile," she reminded as the glass doors were opened for them to walk out onto the small patio.

Elijah spotted them right away, motioning for the band to pause in their playing as he walked toward the two. "I believe you all remember my little sister, Rebekah, and may I present the newest addition to the family, Caroline," he told the others, holding out a hand in her direction as Rebekah pushed her forward. "Niklaus' Queen."

Caroline nearly fumbled at what Elijah had said, not having expected to be presented as a member of the Mikaelson family. From the barely audible gasps followed by murmurs from a number of others present she had a feeling that none of the others had expected to hear such words said either. They had been scrutinizing her as soon as she'd stepped into the light with Rebekah but that seemed to only intensify after Elijah's introductions. Some of them did not look at all happy to see her, though they quickly covered that up once they saw her looking at them.

Rebekah leaned forward. "Don't forget that I'm still your favorite little sister," Rebekah murmured to Elijah.

"We shall see," Elijah replied, and Caroline pressed her lips together to stop from laughing at the indignant noise Rebekah made at his comment. He motioned for the band to resume playing. "Now we deal with the arduous task of speaking to them. Do so at your leisure and do not worry, if any of them steps even a toe out of line-"

"They'll be dead before they get the chance," Rebekah interrupted, pulling Caroline along with her. "Come on, I see Pryia. She's one of the few I can actually stand."

Caroline could see the other vampires coming toward them, all ready to ask their millions of questions and Caroline took a breath, readying herself for the inquisition she knew was coming as she allowed Rebekah to pull her along.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

It started down in his toes, trapped beneath the material of his shoes but he could  _feel_  it, could sense that there was flesh and bone there, and knew that he was no longer stone. Klaus didn't know how long it took for the girl to work her magic, each minute seeming like eternity to him. He couldn't hear Caroline and that was driving him mad. Klaus knew they had traveled to New Orleans and he had a feeling that they had stored his body in the room he had quickly put together for Caleb when the little witch had been brought to the house. It was spelled to keep anyone from hearing what was happening inside or out of it. Something he'd done to keep Caroline from knowing where the boy was at first and also to keep the boy from yelling for help before he'd coaxed Caroline into doing things his way after she'd run off on her own.

None of it had gone how he had imagined it would, but it was the only explanation he would allow to play out in his mind as he waited for the spell to finish. The other options that ended with him being unable to hear her voice because she was dead were quickly brushed from his mind, not allowed to take up residence. Even as they tried to bury hooks in the far reaches, playing out gruesome ends for the girl even when rationally he knew that she was impervious to nearly all deaths because of her Harbinger status. That didn't mean nothing could harm her though. After all his siblings and he were for all intents and purposes immortal but the white oak stake would kill them easy enough.

"You didn't scream," Davina pouted as his face finally resumed to his original state. Was the girl truly pouting at that fact?

"You're a sadistic little thing, aren't you?" Klaus murmured, looking over at her as he flexed his hands, glancing around the room, thankful that he had been correct in his assessment of where they had placed them.

"I just don't like you," Davina replied with a shrug as she sat down on one of the chairs. "You should suffer a little. It would have brought me great satisfaction."

"Always could have left me in that state then if you truly wanted me to suffer," Klaus pointed out, remembering the girl's words as to why she was helping him. Her loyalty to Caroline would definitely be something he'd use as often as he could in the future. Even without the powers of a hundred witches behind her she was still pretty powerful. All of the Coven would be.

Davina shrugged again. He knew fully well why she hadn't left him to rot like that for years. She had wanted to do so, thought it a fitting end for the Hybrid, but she'd seen what would happen to Caroline if she did that. She didn't like the sadness the older girl had displayed in that timeline, even if she had still done her duty, there had never been any more laughter or real smiles pulled from her lips, an overwhelming sense of loss had seemed to always envelop Caroline. Davina hadn't liked it one bit.

Klaus turned from her and headed toward the door, yanking it open and off its hinges. Sounds immediately invaded his senses and he focused through them, picking up the other vampires in the backyard, Elijah speaking to some of them, Rebekah chatting away, and  _there_ , Caroline. It seemed she was meeting the others, something he had hoped to be there for, to introduce her to them. Truly, he'd rather her never meet the lot of them, for them not to try and sully what was only beginning between the two of them with their own beliefs and prejudices. Each of the ones in the yard had been mere entertainment, something to break up the monotony of the centuries. They had amused him for a time but just as with countless others he had tossed them away when they no longer held their shine.

He would not have them putting it into Caroline's head that her fate would be the same. Surely she knew that. If she'd been simply an amusement he would have locked her away the second he knew she was from the Harbinger line, drained her dry of vervain and compelled her to do as he willed. He never would have crossed that bloody circle to keep her from Silas' clutches.

Klaus listened for a long moment, trying to determine Caroline's current state and debating if he had time to change into something more suitable for the occasion. It wasn't a difficult task, his own hearing being better than the rest and headed toward the bedroom, ready to change into the suit he knew was inside the closet.

He stopped moving when he picked up on one particular strand conversation.

"Have they lost their minds?" one of the vampires asked, and from the weakness of it he could tell they were trying to whisper, to keep from being overheard in the sea of vampires on the lawn.

"You need to be quiet, Brenden," another murmured, her tone clearly fearful.

" _Queen_. A member of the  _family,_ " Brenden continued, voice rising on the last word and Klaus arched a brow at that as well, amused that Elijah and Rebekah had claimed Caroline as such. It was true, she was now, but he hadn't quite expected them to pick up on that so soon. He wondered how Caroline had reacted to the news. "He'll get tired of her in a decade and she'll just be another little whore he dallied with."

Klaus froze as the words from below filtered into his ears, pure white rage building up inside of him. "Maybe he'll let me have a round with her once he's done," Brenden continued, and the amusement in his voice only made the rage nearly boil over.

If he could hear it then he was certain the others could as well, that  _Caroline_  could hear it being said. Klaus was outside before another word could be spoken, hand plunging into the vampire's ribcage and gripping his heart. He heard the collective gasp, but his focus was on the vampire at his mercy. "Tell me, mate, did you honestly think I'd let such slips of the tongue go without punishment?" he demanded before pulling out the heart, not allowing for the vampire to answer.

It didn't matter what he would say, nothing could stop him from this fate. Klaus looked out at the group congregated on the lawn; saw the startled looks in the faces of those who'd been turned hundreds of years before. It was confirmation to him that they all believed the same as the one now sprawled out dead on the ground. He couldn't have that.

He spotted Elijah first, nodding to the group of vampires and watching his brother sigh, though clearly he understood the meaning. Rebekah he spotted next and she shook her head, rolling her eyes at his antics but nodded just the same. And then there she was, his Caroline, a vision in the gold dress he had picked out for such an occasion.

He had expected disappointment or annoyance to be her expression over him having killed one at the party, but that wasn't what he saw. Her entire face seemed to light up when she saw him and her smile-he wanted to capture that magnificent smile forever, display it in a room for whenever he needed a reminder that she loved him. Wars were fought and won because of a smile like that.

He reciprocated it in kind, wanting nothing more than to flash away with her and enjoy their reunion on the bed, but there were matters to take care of first. Klaus had no use for the rest of the vampires. They'd grown comfortable in their centuries away from the Originals and he didn't want any of them joining the Mikaelson family in New Orleans. He also knew that they wouldn't take the news well and Klaus had no intentions of allowing for another war to break out so soon after the last one. Better to get rid of them now than a few months down the line.

He headed over to Caroline and Rebekah first, not wanting Caroline to still be in the yard once he got down to business. A stake wouldn't do much beyond be a pain for a while to her, but he'd really rather not ruin the dress she was wearing. His gaze dropped to the bracelet on her wrist and he smirked at the fact she'd not only found it, but had decided to wear it as well.

"Not going to throw it back in my face this time, love?" he asked, reaching out to finger one of the curls that had made its way out of her updo.

"Not unless I get a pretty picture out of it again," Caroline told him, clasping his hand with her own. It was shaking and he finally took note of the tremor that seemed to run through her whole body. She had missed him.

"Rebekah, be a dear and take her inside," Klaus instructed, not even bothering to look over at his sister. "Elijah and I have some matters to discuss with the others."

"If you think for one minute that I'm-" Caroline started, glaring at him for even suggesting that she go where she couldn't see him. She had just gotten him back like hell was she going anywhere.

"Caroline," Klaus narrowed his eyes, unsure how to convey what he and his brother were about to do without giving it away to the others. The band was still playing and he could hear the chatter start again, Brenden's body already being moved to the side for the festivities to continue.

"Don't you Caroline me," she protested, ready to still fight him on it when Davina stumbled out onto the patio. Her attention turned to the girl who looked as though she would collapse any second and Caroline caught her before she could stumble any further. "Davina, are you okay?"

"Hungry," the girl murmured, leaning into Caroline for support.

"Perhaps you should take her inside to get something to eat from the fridge," Klaus suggested, unable to help the smugness to his expression. It only intensified when Caroline glared at him before looking back at the girl. She sighed and helped the girl inside, knowing Davina needed her the most right then.

Rebekah stopped him before he could turn back to address the rest of the vampires. "Not Malachi. The pack needs a word with him," she murmured to him, her voice barely audible and Klaus pressed his lips together.

He should have known that one wouldn't follow orders once he'd left town. Ah well. He'd fix that situation now. "Keep her inside," Klaus told Rebekah before turning back to smile at the others. "I'd say it's a pleasure to see all of you, but we all know that would be a lie."

If he hadn't thought they would be useful collateral damage he never would have had Elijah contact the lot of them. They had long stopped being even mildly entertaining centuries before and while they had helped by continuously looking for the moonstone from the curse he'd perpetuated for his own means, they were no longer even useful in that regard. The curse was broken and while a few of them might leave and not look back once he denied them residence in New Orleans he didn't really want to take the chance.

Especially since those there knew who Caroline was, knew her status to him, and he'd really rather not have vampires older than five hundred knowing such details. They might not be able to kill her, but he'd taught many of them everything he knew, and it wouldn't surprise Klaus at all if one of them decided to try a little torture on her to make him pay for whatever slight he had ever done to them.

Vampires might forgive but they never did forget.

And perhaps none of them would do a thing to Caroline but Klaus would rather not take the chance.

He flashed forward before any of them could blink, watching Elijah join in out of his peripheral vision, and began to rip out hearts, broke a chair to use as a stake and plunged it into the vampires. It was over in moments, happening too quickly for them to realize what was happening around them, and by the time they understood what he meant to do they were dead. It was a lovely little bloodbath and one that he'd need to compel the neighbors to forget, evidence of it would need to be disposed of, but he would sleep better that night knowing the chance of a threat to Caroline was eradicated. And that's what mattered to Klaus.

"Pryia wouldn't have been a threat, brother," Elijah chided as he gazed down at the girl he had turned so long ago, the rest of her clan dead beside her. He'd made sure her death was as quick and painless as possible.

"If I recall she was just as embroiled in that mess in Spain as Samael had been," Klaus pointed out, stepping over a body and wiping the blood off his fingers. "You'll create new ones." Ones that could be easily molded to what they needed nowadays.

Only one had been granted a short reprieve.

Malachi lay on the ground, stakes driven into his arms and deep into the earth, locking him in place. "I hear my pack wants a word with you?" Klaus asked, driving another wooden spike into the man's abdomen. The screams were like music to his ears. "Tell me, Malachi, did you at least wait until I was in the air before deliberately going against what I said?"

Another stake was driven into the man's right hand, burying it into the ground as well. Malachi spat at him, and Klaus nearly drove the next stake into his heart in retribution but instead wiped the filth from his cheek. "Would you rather a swift death, old friend, or one that takes years. I believe Rebekah would enjoy playing with you for a while. Bleed you dry and try out a few new tools before eventually plunging a stake into your heart?" Klaus murmured, watching him closely. "How many did you take?"

It had always been the vampire's favorite pastime, taking werewolves to torture for a bit of fun. If it hadn't been his pack and if he hadn't expressly told the vampires to leave the wolves alone, Klaus wouldn't have minded, but he never did appreciate being disobeyed.

"Kill me and you'll never find them," Malachi warned, trying to be brave in the face of the monster that stared down at him. Nine hundred years of being a killing machine and he still couldn't help quake when Klaus smiled that particular grin, the one that always seemed to come before death.

"I think you mistake your importance in finding them," Klaus replied, and reached forward snapping the vampire's neck. It looked like Rebekah would have a fun new project to take care of for a while.

"And how do you expect to find the wolves now? It'll take hours for him to be healed from that and who knows how long they have to live through whatever torture he was partaking in," Rebekah demanded as she walked back outside, looking around the lawn. Bodies were strewn everywhere. "This is going to be a mess to clean up."

Klaus looked up, arching a brow at Stefan Salvatore standing behind his sister. "Hello, Rippah," he greeted. Pity that Caroline wouldn't appreciate the Salvatore brother in his more amusing state of being. "Do we not have a witch currently in the house? I'd wager a location spell should do the trick." He pushed himself up, and whirled around a finger in the air as he looked at his siblings and Stefan. "I'm sure the three of you can take care of this."

"Of course," Rebekah bit out. "Leave us to handle your mess. Typical."

Klaus ignored her. He had a location spell to get put into action and a certain blonde vampire to whisk away for a few hours.

* * *

Caroline didn't want to be inside. She wanted to be out where the actions was because she just  _knew_  something was about to happen. It was displayed in Klaus' body language, his uncontained fury at what she had most definitely heard the other vampire say about her. She'd seen Rebekah ready to move across the lawn and tear the vampire a new one, but had shook her head at the girl, not wanting to ruin the party. Like she cared what the other vampire said about her...well up until the part about having a go at her when Klaus was done. She'd nearly gone for his throat instead then, but Klaus had beaten her to it.

She still couldn't believe he was there, that he had come back and was no longer stone. Upon seeing him it was as if the whole world had disappeared and all she could focus on was him. He was there and he was okay, blood dripping from his fingers and a body lying on the ground. But it was  _him_  and as much as she wanted to scold him for his actions, she found she wanted to wrap her arms around him, pull him close, and never let go more.

Instead she was in the kitchen with Davina and Caroline knew it was where she needed to be. Plus she was worried about the girl. She looked ravenous and from the way she was devouring the leftover Chinese that was in the fridge courtesy of one of the wolves who worked in the house, Caroline had a feeling the girl really was starving. It had been a number of days since she'd eaten. She also looked exhausted and Caroline wondered how the girl was even managing to sit up right.

"What do you need?" Caroline asked, keeping her focus on Davina even as they could hear chaos erupt outside. She glanced toward the doorway that led out to the backyard and rose to go see exactly what was happening, but Davina grabbed her arm.

" _No_!" the girl snapped, vehemently shaking her head as she locked gazes with her. "He needs to do this. If he doesn't they hurt you. So let him do it."

Caroline nearly asked what exactly Klaus was doing, but she didn't need to be told. If Klaus thought the other vampires posed a threat to her then they were as good as dead and nothing she said would stop him from finishing them off. She sat back down, keeping her focus on Davina. "Like I said, what do you need?" she asked again, watching the girl closely.

Davina polished off the box of noodles and wiped at her eyes. Her exhaustion was definitely beginning to catch up with her. "I think sleep now. I would've gone right to bed but I was kind of hungry." She motioned toward the small takeout box that she had devoured in minutes. "It's nothing to worry about. Just a side effect of what I did."

Caroline frowned, not liking that there was any type of fallout from what the girl had done. It wasn't as though she knew what the girl had been going to do, but she couldn't help but feel a little guilty about it. "Real sleep, right? Because no more of that sudden black out kind of sleep where you're out for days." Possibly longer if what Caleb had told her was right.

"Not anytime soon," Davina replied, tossing the container and plastic fork into the trashcan. It was the most she could promise; knowing she'd do it all again in a heartbeat if she thought it would benefit Caroline in some way.

"Let's get you to bed," Caroline said with a sigh. That hadn't been what she wanted to hear, but she could see the stubbornness in Davina's features and knew there wouldn't be any reasoning with her at the moment. "Do you want to stay in my old room or the one you were in before?" She knew she wouldn't be using the one that had been decorated to her tastes any time soon.

"The sound proof one I was in before," Davina told her, looking over at Caroline with a pointed look. She could only imagine what the other girl was trying to imply and steered her toward the stairs, nodding to Rebekah and Stefan as they headed outside to help Klaus.

"We'll let Caleb know how you're doing tomorrow," Caroline continued as they entered the bedroom and Davina headed straight to the bed.

The girl looked so young in moments like this, not at all like the little powerhouse that she still was even though her connection to the witches was broken. There had been a time Caroline had looked like that as well, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. She hoped Davina's life wouldn't be full of supernatural nonsense, but the likelihood of the girl truly living a normal life was pretty non-existent. But it had to be better than what she was going through before she'd been broken free from the witches, right?

Caroline hoped it was better.

"Thank you, Davina," she murmured, looking down at the girl.

"He will do horrible, terrible things. Many people will die because of him," Davina told her, and Caroline frowned, knowing what the girl spoke was true. There were vampires dying in the backyard at that very moment. The girl was looking straight at her, but it was if her gaze was somewhere far away, events she had seen playing out before her. "He will always be feared by everyone else. They will cower to him and whispers of his name will send others running, terrified of being in his path."

Davina looked back at Caroline, the haunted look that had been in her eyes replaced by something akin to hope. "But they will love you and they will see that he loves you. And he'll keep you safe when Caleb and I aren't around anymore. In a thousand years. And a thousand years after that. And after that..." The girl yawned before looking behind Caroline, her eyes narrowing. "I still don't like you."

Caroline didn't have to look behind her to know that Klaus was in the doorway. She could sense him there even before Davina had said a word or hardened her features. "Feelings very mutual," Klaus replied his tone entirely too amused. "Even if you have your uses."

Davina glared at him before looking back at Caroline who was sighing at his words. "I'll check on you in the morning," Caroline promised, rising from the bed as the other girl nodded.

She had intended to glare at Klaus for his words, but instead she felt her gaze roaming over his body, taking in all the blood splattered on his clothes. "Malachi?" she asked, knowing Rebekah had told him to spare that particular vampire.

"Bit indisposed at the moment. Going to need to get the vervain out of him before I can compel the information. Rebekah will see to it in the meantime. I already spoke to the pack and gave them a few places to start searching for the missing members," Klaus informed her, holding the door open for her to travel through.

He had her in his arms before the door even fully closed, face pressed into the curve of her neck as he breathed her in, holding her tightly to his body. She wrapped her own around him and he could practically feel the weight coming off of her shoulders as she clung to him. He scooped her up in his arms, causing her to steady herself by gripping his shoulders and had them inside of his room within seconds.

That was the last time he would rush through anything for the evening. He meant to take his time memorizing her body all over again, to impart on her that what the vampires had believed was wrong. She wasn't some prize he'd won and would tire of. She wasn't some entertainment to keep him occupied for a few decades, perhaps a century. The depth of his feelings for her were bottomless, all encompassing, and he wouldn't let her think for a moment that it would ever end.

Klaus knew her insecurities all too well. Partially because he'd experienced them when he was human, never quite able to live up to his parents' expectations. Always second best for reasons he didn't learn about until the notion that he was worthless compared to his siblings was engraved in his head. He'd proven how wrong his supposed father had been. He was the strongest, the fastest,  _the Hybrid_. His parents would never be able to forget how wrong they had been about him, forced to watch how powerful he'd always be from the Other Side. Klaus thought it was a perfect punishment for all they had ever done to him and his siblings.

He'd also seen firsthand how Caroline was treated back in Mystic Falls by her friends, learned of her past romances, saw how she was always the easy bit of distraction to dole out by them. Never had they treated her as he deemed her to be treated, never had they seen who Caroline Forbes truly was and what she deserved. He vowed to spend eternity making sure she knew exactly how precious she was, how strong, how beautiful, how smart, and pity any who tried to sully her name or tarnish her light.

Klaus set her down as soon as they were in the room, crowding her toward the bed, his gaze never leaving hers. His hands had moved from her back to rest on her hips, rubbing the bones there through the material. He'd enjoyed the dress on her earlier, but now it was blocking him from what he wanted, her skin that his fingers were itching to touch. All he wanted to do was rip the now annoying material from her body and replace it with his hands, lips, teeth and tongue. She must have seen his intent because her eyes narrowed and she pushed his hands off of her body, holding up a hand to try and stop his continuing approach.

"No ruining this dress," Caroline told him as she stepped back, noting his heated gaze, certain her own reflected it. She pushed him in the chest, making her sure he understood she meant business. She'd barely been in it and it suited her personality perfectly. He wasn't allowed to destroy it before she'd worn it for a decent amount of time. "I happen to like it." She turned, lifting her falling updo and glancing over her shoulder at him. "Unzip me."

She'd expected him to quickly unzip the garment and have it pooling around her legs in seconds. What she didn't expect was for him to wrap an arm around her stomach, pulling her back against the hard planes of his body. She nearly protested, having meant what she'd said about the dress and not wanting it ruined, but he pushed her hand away from her hair, sweeping what spilled down onto her neck off of it before pressing his lips to the expanse of skin presented to him. Caroline couldn't help but hum in delight at the contact.

"They were deadly wrong," Klaus told her, moving a hand in between them to slide the zipper down an inch as his lips brushed down the nape of her neck. He smiled as she shivered at his touch, his other hand drawing circles against her still covered stomach.

"I know," Caroline told him, her voice adamant. She tried to turn to look at him, but his hand tightened around her, locking her in place.

He moved down her spine, slowly inching the zipper downward as his lips followed along, the hand on her stomach drifting southward as well. Caroline closed her eyes at the contact, allowing him this control for the moment. She could sense he needed it and while she desperately wanted to get out of the dress and throw him onto the bed, she figured he had been the one who'd been turned to stone so she could allow him a little control.

"Do you?" Klaus replied, the zipper finally meeting its end and he tugged at the material, making sure to be gentle with it as it finally pooled at her feet. He whirled her around then, catching her arms as he locked his gaze with her own. He had to make sure she truly did understand that. "Do you realize the lengths I will go to because of you?"

He walked her backwards to the bed, the back of her knees bumping into the mattress and causing her to sit down. Klaus released her arms as he pressed her down to the mattress, his hands pushing into the mattress beside her, locking her in place. "All I could see was what they could do to you. How they might harm you and so I disposed of them without a second thought," Klaus continued, moving one hand between their bodies to her bra covered breast. He flicked his finger, the strength of the impact breaking the elastic and allowing him to pull the cups out of the way. She'd only spoke up about the dress, the rest of her clothes were fair game.

"Klaus," Caroline growled, but he caught her lips, pressing a bruising kiss to her mouth and silencing whatever she had been about to say. Her fingers threaded into his hair, pulling at his roots while simultaneously pulling him closer. She locked one leg around his waist, trying to draw him closer that way as well.

"I will kill any I think will try and take you from this world, who will even attempt to cause you the tiniest bit of harm," Klaus told her, the mere thought of anyone even trying it driving him mad. He moved back to her neck, dragging his teeth down her flesh before kissing her collarbone. "Elena and Damon are quite lucky that we're already in New Orleans or I would have ended them already."

She yanked on his head then, glaring at him. "You're not killing my friends," she admonished, knowing he would do it if he thought he could get away with it. "We've hit a rocky patch but give us another few months and I'm sure Elena and I will be the best of friends again." It might take a tiny bit longer than normal. Maybe a decade.

Caroline could tell he wasn't listening to what she had said and she heaved a sigh, grasping at his face and forcing him to look her in the eye. She knew he'd allowed her to do so, his strength was far greater than hers and if he hadn't wanted to look then he wouldn't have. "You're not hurting them," she told him, sucking in a breath when his fingers drifted under her panties and pressed against the bundle of nerves causing her toes to curl. "Stop that."

She nearly pulled his hand away, knowing he'd have her forgetting everything they were talking about in seconds if he kept up that movement. She couldn't allow him to think he'd won on this point. Klaus must have sensed what she was going to do though as he had her hands pinned above her head, pressed down on the bed with one of his own before she could move.

"If you hurt them," she told him, watching him carefully as her body pressed up against his. He was still touching her, making her ache for him. "You'll hurt me."

Klaus growled at that, releasing her hands and pressing his nose into her neck. That hadn't been what he wanted to hear, but he could see the truth of it in her eyes. Hurting Elena and Damon would only hurt her and that was the last thing he wanted. "I would let the Donovan boy live," Klaus groused as Caroline worked on unbuckling his belt and the button of his pants.

She snorted at that admission, knowing he felt it was enough but it wouldn't be. Even if she was angry with the other two, she didn't want them dead. Elena's words that had stung did not equal a death sentence. "No," Caroline murmured as Klaus divested himself of his clothes. She slipped out of her panties and slid up the bed so that she was sitting with her back against the headboard. "People will anger me, hurt my feelings, and make me sad. You can't just go around killing everyone that does that."

From the incredulous look he gave her, Caroline knew Klaus thought that he bloody well could do that. She reached forward; taking hold of the necklace he was wearing and tugged him forward by it. "I need to fight my own battles," Caroline protested, running her other hand up his chest as she pressed a kiss to his stubbled chin. "Remember,  _compromise._ "

Klaus snorted at that, capturing her lips again and moving them so her body was fitted perfectly beneath his own. He entered her swiftly, delighting in the moan he swallowed as he continued the bruising kiss. Her legs moved, wrapping around his waist as they began a steady rhythm, her hands scraping down his back leaving deep scratches that healed as she made new ones.

He left her mouth, moving back to her neck, her collarbone and shoulder. He could never seem to stray too far from her neck though, she made the most exquisite sounds when he paid particular attention there. "Klaus," Caroline groaned, and he knew it wasn't because of what he was doing that time but because of their conversation. "Please."

This girl would be the death of him. Expecting compromise from him, expecting it when it came to what he deemed her safety and well-being. She was tugging in his head, trying to get him to look at her and he relented, allowing her to shift him that bit. "Please," she reiterated, and he knew he could get lost in those pleading eyes.

"You get no say in physical threats," he told her, thrusting into her harder, pleased when her head rolled back, eyes shutting at the movement. "I'll speak to you first about emotional ones." That didn't mean he'd listen to what she had to say every time, but it was giving up a little of his power.

"Nope, sorry, not good enough," Caroline told him and used his surprise to flip them over. She pressed her hands to his chest and stopped their movements, partially to adjust to being on top but also because she needed to make her point. "I saw that look. That 'I'll speak to you but won't listen to what you say' one."

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her, even though he was unable to stop his gaze from traveling over her body, enjoying the way she looked on top of him, her anger making her more radiant than ever. "Caroline," he moved to touch her waist but she smacked his hands away. "Do you have any idea what you're asking of me?" To give up that control, that power, even to her…

"Yes." And while her gaze may have softened briefly she wouldn't be backing down on this one.

He pressed his lips together, the idea of keeping her locked up for her own safety flashing in his head again and oh, how tempting that would be. But then he would be the one sullying that light and he couldn't stand being the one to do that. "Very well," he bit out and damn her delighted smile. "You'll get final say on the emotional ones."

She bent down, breasts brushing against his chest as she moved to kiss him. "I know you'll stumble and fall with it," she told him, dropping kisses along his jaw. "Don't worry there will be consequences to help you stick to it."

He growled at that, grasping her by the waist and shifting them again so that she was beneath him. Klaus expected to find annoyance in her features but instead she was looking up at him with so much joy that he almost couldn't bear it. He had her writhing beneath him within moments, sending her over the edge and following barely seconds after her. They shifted on the bed, Caroline curled up on top of him like she had been back at the Lockwood place and he pulled the cover over them.

"I would destroy this entire world for you," Klaus murmured to break the silence.

"I'd rather you help me build it," Caroline replied, kissing his chest as she closed her eyes.

Klaus felt her relax completely against him, falling into a peaceful sleep as he continued to look down at her. He could hear the others getting rid of the mess made in the backyard, could hear Rebekah starting to play with the newest inhabitant of the makeshift dungeon, but his focus stayed on the young vampire curled up in his arms. It'd be a struggle to give up that kind of control to her and while he'd done so in other areas of his life, in regards to ruling New Orleans, this would be the toughest one yet.

Brushing a strand of hair off her face, Klaus knew it would be worth it in the end if it meant having her by his side for eternity with that inner radiance that he would never allow anyone to extinguish. Least of all him.

 


	30. Chapter 30

_It's time I open up,  
_ _and let your love right through me_

* * *

It was still dark out when Caroline finally stirred, blinking away the last remnants of sleep. She half expected Klaus to be drawing again or elsewhere in the bedroom busying himself with some important matter. He had meant it when he'd told her that he didn't need sleep like she still seemed to. Though maybe it was less that she needed it and more that it was still something she was used to. Another piece of her human life that she would eventually come to terms with not needing any longer. Sleep was something vampires did need, but the nightly stretch for eight hours seemed like something in the distant past for the Originals.

Klaus hadn't left the bed, fingers still brushing gently through her hair, his other arm holding her close and locking her into place curled against him. She didn't make a sound, didn't dare move as she didn't want to end that particular moment with him. Once she let out a sound they would eventually need to start moving again, to face the oncoming day and even though the moon was still in the sky and dawn wouldn't be for another hour or so, Caroline wasn't quite ready to go back into the world.

She wanted to enjoy this small piece of time with Klaus before the rest of the world seeped into their lives and perhaps there would be countless more moments exactly like this one in a thousand years and apparently a thousand years after that, but that didn't mean she was going to take this particular one for granted. Especially not when she had been without his presence for nearly a week, fearful of how long the curse would actually last.

They had come a long way from her absolutely dreading being in the same room with him, scoffing at his presence, being the little distraction to keep him occupied while her friends worked on whichever scheme they were currently trying to complete. It wasn't that she wanted to spend every hour with Klaus. She still needed her own space at times, needed her own dreams and honestly being around anyone 24/7 would become grating, but considering she had only just gotten him back, she really wasn't in the mood to share him with anyone else yet.

"I know you're awake, love," Klaus informed her, and she could hear the amusement in his voice, his grip tightening around her.

Caroline shifted, pressing a finger to his lips and trying to stop him from continuing to speak. It would be just their luck that someone else in the house would hear them stirring and want to start addressing concerns over what had happened the night before. Not that she could deny that they did need to make sure all their ducks were in a row in regards to the chaos and aftermath that had been her welcoming soiree, but it could at least wait until the sun rose. She was confident that the others had handled the aftermath just fine. After all Elijah and Rebekah had been cleaning up Klaus' messes for nearly one thousand years. They were old pros at it.

Klaus arched a brow as he looked down at her, curious as to why she was silencing him. He may have heard all of what was happening when they had been near him in his stone form but it wasn't the same. Their voices had almost had a hollow sound that distorted them a degree and he wanted to hear her voice. He opened his mouth to speak again but Caroline shook her head, sliding up a little to press her lips to his, cutting off whatever he had been about to say.

There was so much that she was trying to put into the kiss, her hands moving to his jaw, trying to hold onto him as she deepened it slightly, but didn't hurry it. This wasn't a time for urgency that she experienced so often when they went to bed, her desire for him overriding any sense to slow down and take her time. She'd been letting her predatory side out with him, taking as much as she gave, but this time she wanted it to be different.

Caroline Forbes was baring her soul in that moment, trying to show Klaus what she'd already told others, those deep feelings that she had for him, the love that she was still working on actually putting into words for him. She had grown up watching every TV and movie couple bare their souls in such thoughtful and endearing ways, memorized Scarlet O'Hara's speeches about it from a young age-both movie  _and_  book-experienced telling Matt those words and Tyler as well. She knew she had loved them both, but there was something very different from the way she had loved them compared to how she loved Klaus.

She couldn't put it in words no matter how hard she tried and as someone who was constantly talking; she decided to show him through her actions. The gentle caress of her hand against the stubble on his cheek couldn't be construed as a lie. Her bare body pressing against his skin wasn't something he could have doubts about.

At least she hoped not.

The words were there to say on her tongue, quickly swallowed whole as Klaus deepened the kiss, maneuvering them so that she was laying beneath him. Her hands moved from his face to the nape of his neck, sliding along the skin there and down his back as Klaus reached between their bodies, fingers brushing against her nipples. Caroline gasped, breaking the kiss as he moved to kiss her neck, no doubt wanting to pay special attention to her again, but like hell was she letting him take over. She couldn't help but close her eyes as he sucked on her pulse point, humming at the sensation, and she could feel him smiling as he continued playing her body like a finely tuned instrument, one he was taking great care to memorize.

Caroline pushed him away, offering a reassuring smile at his confusion and she hated that she saw a split second of fear flash in his features-no doubt worry that she was putting a stop to what was transpiring between them-before they became stony. "Klaus," Caroline started but he was already rising, pulling away from her, and she reached out, grabbing onto his arm to try and stop him.

She could almost see the internal struggle that was going on inside of him. The warring parts that on one side wanted him to lash out at her before she could potentially hurt him and the other not wanting to cause her any sort of pain, attempting to trust that she wouldn't inflict pain on him either. Klaus didn't move from where he was. His expression still as closed off as it had been, watching her carefully, but Caroline figured it meant the trusting part of him was winning out for the moment.

"I…"

I love you.

Just three little words.

They should have been so easy to say but she couldn't seem to get them to leave her throat. Telling Klaus that she loved him meant that what they had between them was forever. Caroline wasn't stupid, she knew those three words would finalize who she was to him for both of them. And if she thought Klaus would never let her go before those three words would only cement that fact. Not that she wanted him to let her go. She very much wanted to be there beside him.

Forever was a hard concept to accept though.

It was one that she still had a hard time even thinking about. She had been a vampire for a little over a year, a Harbinger for a little over a month. She couldn't even contemplate what a decade was like, a century. It was so far out of her realm of reality, of what she knew, that it frightened her, worried her, but like hell was she going to let that worry cause Klaus pain.

Caroline shifted, sitting up as well, and slid her hand up his arm as she tugged on his necklaces to bring him closer again.  _I love you_ , said the slow kiss she gave him.  _I love you,_  was in the way she pulled him even closer, hand raking down his back and leaving already healing scratches.  _I love you I love you I love you_ , her body continued with each gentle caress that turned heavier, each kiss that went deeper, each time she met his thrusts as they moved together. It was in the way she bit down on his neck, taking the blood he offered with the tilt of his neck and a deep, "Have at it, love."

The unspoken words were there as she laid curled up against him afterward, tracing circles along his bare chest, and pressing kisses to it. It nearly came out of her mouth, so close to being said, but she remembered how cringe worthy she had always found it being said on TV shows after sex. The last thing she wanted was for Klaus to think she told him it because she was high off bloodlust and her orgasm.

She frowned, annoyed with herself for not having said it earlier. "Rather bruising to my ego that you're not blissfully happy, Caroline," Klaus informed her and while she could hear the laughter in his voice she also noted the worry.

"I don't want the sun to come up," she groused, which was the truth. There was just the whole anger at not having voiced her own thoughts earlier too but she'd focus on the sun part. "It comes up and we'll need to get out of bed and face the day. Get the massive list of things done that needs to be taken care of before we can relax again."

Klaus ran his hand down her spine, smirking at how sensitive she was to his touch and loving the fact that she not only moaned at the contact but arched into him further. "Or we could waste the day away in bed," he pointed out. It wasn't as though his siblings or Stefan would come barging in if they heard Caroline moaning in pleasure.

"Nuh uh," Caroline shook her head, trying to extract herself from Klaus' grip but that only seemed to have him hold onto her tighter. "I have to meet with Caleb today. He's got some potential witches he's thinking of contacting to join the Coven and wants to share them with me."

To her surprise, Klaus actually released his hold on her and sat up. "Ah." Caroline followed suit, sitting up as well and watching him, uncertain as to what was going on inside of his head at that moment. Well, aside from the way he was looking over her naked body and the desire clearly shining in his eyes, the way he licked his lips. "I am going to need to see that list."

Caroline arched a brow. "Oh?"

"These are witches who will be coming into my…" Klaus paused, slightly bowing his head to her as he amended his statement, " _Our_  city and there are a number of witch families around the world that I either want nothing to do with or have, shall we say, dark intentions when it comes to me. I need veto rights to that list."

He watched her frown, knowing she was going over all he had just told her. No doubt playing out the ramifications in her head, and he reached over, pushing a curl behind her ear. "I believe this would be a good time for a  _compromise_."

The arch of his brow with that ridiculously smug grin on his face had Caroline wanting to hit him and she pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh at how nicely he had played that hand. How could she deny his compromise when he'd had to do so for her only a few hours ago? His rationalizations on why he wanted veto rights were pretty compelling as well. She couldn't discount that the last witches she'd want anywhere near her Coven would be ones that wanted Klaus' head on a stick.

"Seriously?!" Caroline asked, shaking her head as she tried not to smile, avoiding his gaze. "You've been waiting for this one, haven't you?"

Klaus tipped her chin up so she could look at him. "Does that mean you accept my need to have veto power?" he inquired, already knowing her answer. He could tell she would accept it because she hadn't started immediately coming up with reasons against it.

"Yes," she nodded, finally allowing a smile to grace her lips.

"Now, I believe I have another matter we should compromise on," Klaus told her, pressing his forehead against hers. "One that I think you'll find to be mutually beneficial."

"Oh?" she asked, arching a brow at him as she started toying with his necklaces again.

"I highly doubt the witch boy will be ready to discuss any matters with us until at least eleven. Which gives us a few more hours to enjoy the comforts of this bed," Klaus pointed out, and Caroline tried to purse her lips as though she was contemplating the idea.

"I may need to be persuaded," she informed him as she lay back on the bed, tugging him down with her. Caroline was certain Caleb could wait more than a few hours if it meant she got to continue to see Klaus' victorious smile before he kissed her.

There was a knock on the bedroom door that they both ignored, barely paying attention to the world around them. The second knock was louder and it almost pulled Caroline out of the moment, but Klaus' mouth on her breast instantly extinguished that idea.

"Caroline?" Davina called, knocking again and Caroline froze underneath Klaus, trying to still his movements. "I'm hungry."

"You're old enough to put something together yourself in the bloody kitchen," Klaus called out, shaking his head at Caroline who was giving him a pointed look. Like hell he was letting her out of bed to go make the girl the something to eat.

"There's only blood bags left and I don't drink that," Davina replied, her lilting voice getting on Klaus' last nerve.

"Get Rebekah to bring you out," Klaus snapped. No doubt the little witch was doing this on purpose. She didn't like him and what a perfect opportunity to grate on him without him being able to do a thing in retaliation.

"They're not here," Davina laughed which only made Klaus angrier. "I believe they're still getting rid of the bodies."

"We'll be right out, Davina," Caroline called out, trying not to laugh at the murderous look on Klaus' face. Caroline brushed her hand against his cheek, watching his expression soften as he focused on her. "She helped me get you back. The least we can do is get her some food."

Klaus pulled back, muttering to himself and Caroline chose not to listen to what exactly was being said in that moment. "The sooner we get through everything we need to get done today, the more time we'll have left for other activities," Caroline pointed out.

"I thought we only had Caleb to deal with today?" Klaus narrowed his eyes, wondering exactly how many items were on Caroline's list for that day. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if she'd created a list of items for him to accomplish as well. No doubt his siblings and Stefan already knew what their agendas were for the day.

"Caleb. The wolves. And human council wants to see us. I was going to come up with a reason not to see them because I didn't want to do that one without you." At least not if she didn't have to, but if his stone state had gone on too long, Caroline knew it was something she would have needed to do. "But we're both here so we might as well check that one off the list."

Klaus perked up at that news. The human council was something that needed to be dealt with, its members culled if they were too bothersome to deal with and if not then their loyalty to him needed to be sworn, to be ensured through hopefully compulsion. But if not that then threats to loved ones always did work quite nicely. He looked over at Caroline, watching her stretch as she got out of the bed, unable to help his gaze from traveling down her body.

He would rather her not be at that meeting but unless some matter came about during the day that he could hand off for her to deal with, Klaus knew she wouldn't be persuaded not to go as well. Which meant she would see him in all of his ruthless glory and he wondered exactly how she would react to that, what her response would be afterward.

Would she be joining him in their bed tonight or seeking refuge in the room he had prepared for her, far away from him? He didn't doubt that she would stay in New Orleans and that she would stay at his side, but that didn't mean she'd sleep peacefully in his arms again once he reminded her of how much of a monster he could be.

Caroline was smiling at him and Klaus quickly reciprocated the smile, watching as she walked away to pick out clothes to wear. There wasn't any use dwelling on what might happen. It wouldn't change what he would need to do in order to assure order in the kingdom, even if it did mean he might lose the embrace of the woman he loved for a significant portion of time.

No one ever said it was easy being King.

* * *

The amount of witches in the world was something Caleb had never really concerned himself with before. Though there was honestly a lot he hadn't ever really considered or taken into account until recently. But the number of witches in the world, the newer ones blessed with magic from other witches and not actually descended from any particular line to the families who'd had magic in their veins since practically forever. It was a lot to take in and while his own bias leaned toward those descended from magic considering he and the rest of the current Leseid Coven were all from long running lines, he couldn't discount the new blood. Maybe adding in some of them would benefit Caroline in some way.

It was always possible that those newer witches wouldn't have the same biases toward vampires. Though he saw pluses and minuses in regards to that. It might mean they didn't have a healthy dose of fear for the Originals either, that they wouldn't know what Klaus was capable of, and might be more easily manipulated by the Hybrid. That was definitely something Caleb didn't want happening.

He knew Klaus would always be in the picture, even long after he was dead and while he trusted Caroline with all of his being, knew she would be able to hold her own against the Hybrid, Caleb didn't trust Klaus even a tiny bit. He believed without a doubt that Klaus would try to use the Coven or individual members of it for his own purposes, and while maybe those reasons would be to protect Caroline, Caleb couldn't help but feel it'd end in a lot of needless bloodshed.

Sighing, he looked back at the laptop screen, adding in the last bit of information that he knew about his current list of potentials. Some he'd gotten from his grandmother, others from an online forum he'd frequented about Wicca, and even more from one of the books he'd found in the study in the house. There had been an almost never-ending list of names for different witch lines, some going back thousands of years, and after some googling and fact checking Caleb had managed to locate the current descendants.

Now it was just figuring out which ones to actually get to know better and eventually extend an invite to. He wanted the rest of the Covens input in case they'd had any dealings with any of them as well as Caroline's input. He rubbed his hand against his neck, trying to relieve some of the tension, and hoped it wouldn't be too difficult of a process to undertake. Didn't they deserve a break after the last few weeks?

"I'm  _back_!" Davina sang, breaking Caleb from his thoughts and he glanced up from the computer to spot the girl dancing into the room. She was smiling and looking like she didn't have a care in the world as she plopped down onto one of the couches, waving at him. She leaned forward, pursing her lips together as she tried to hold back a laugh. Caleb wasn't sure what the girl was finding to be so amusing in that moment, but he figured he would never understand half of the things that went on in Davina's head. "Caroline needs you at the door."

"Glad you're back with us," Caleb told her as he pushed himself up.

"I know," Davina told him with an all-knowing smile curling on her lips. She pointed behind her toward the hallway that led to the front door, reminding him where he needed to go.

If Davina was back that meant that Klaus was probably also back. Either that or the girl had decided not to break the curse and Caroline had come to try and figure out other alternatives. But that really wouldn't make sense as for why she'd be waiting for him at the door. She could come and go as she pleased and Caleb doubted she would have waited to enter before asking him about other methods to free the Hybrid from his stony state.

His suspicions were confirmed when he spotted a very non-stone like Klaus standing on the steps with Caroline on the other side of the door. "Ah, if it isn't the head of the Coven that we need to speak with," Klaus commented as he neared, and Caleb couldn't help but bristle at the Hybrid's voice. They were never going to be pals. Especially when Caleb could see how much Klaus enjoyed irritating him.

Caroline glared at him before turning to look at Caleb. "I have to invite him in, don't I?" Caleb asked, sighing as he looked between the two of them.

"No. I'll never make you do that." Caroline shook her head. She truly wouldn't, wanting her Coven to have a place they could feel safe among everything else that happened in the city. It was why she had signed the deeds of all her homes to her mother at first, making it so no other vampires could cross the threshold without the woman's permission, but once her mother had died she'd put this house in Caleb's name. No matter what, she wanted her new friend to be safe and in the middle of all the chaos that was one thing she'd made certain to do. "We do all need to talk though and I was thinking we could talk out back on the patio place."

Was it a deck? She wasn't sure what terminology was supposed to be used. But Klaus would be allowed to travel to that part of the estate. "Or we could go out for brunch?" she suggested, trying to make the whole thing as painless as possible.

"I vote brunch!" Davina replied, dancing back down the hallway toward them and linking arms with Caroline. "I'm still very hungry."

Caleb frowned, having a feeling that was because of the lack of eating over the past few days and didn't want to be the one to deny her more food. "I thought you said you were full?" Caroline asked, looking the girl over, her concern obvious.

Davina shrugged, laying her head on Caroline's shoulder. "I want to go too."

"I believe she simply wants to tag along to be a further irritation," Klaus murmured, glaring over at the girl who had kept Caroline at her side ever since they had gotten out of bed. From Davina's smug look he knew he was right in that assessment.

"Let's just around to the back. Davina can get whatever she wants to eat from the kitchen," Caleb suggested, not really wanting to venture out into the city for whatever conversation was about to happen.

Davina pouted but released her grip on Caroline and walked away from them to get her own meal together. Caroline followed Caleb through the house while Klaus flashed around to meet them at their destination. "I'm not going to like whatever this is. Am I?" Caleb asked with a sigh, watching Caroline carefully.

"No, probably not," she admitted, and glanced over at him. "But you trust my judgment, don't you?"

Caleb didn't hesitate as he nodded. "Of course I do." Even when it came to the Hybrid. He didn't always agree with it, but so far Caroline's assessment of any situation with Klaus had been pretty spot on so he couldn't discount that she knew what to do in regards to him.

"Just keep on remembering that," Caroline suggested as they joined Klaus outside.

He was already sitting at the table, watching them with an irritating smirk, and she knew he was thoroughly enjoying himself and no doubt anticipating the conversation that was about to occur. She could practically feel Caleb's tension as the two of them sat down. "Just rip the band aid off and tell me what's going on," Caleb told them as he leaned back in the chair.

"You're looking into possible new witches to join the Leseid Coven, yes?" Klaus asked, still smiling. Caleb hated the Hybrid's smiles, at least the ones he directed at people aside from Caroline. They were insufferable, grating on his last nerves.

"Do I really need to answer that?" Caleb frowned, really not liking where this was conversation was headed. "It's obvious you already know the answer."

"No doubt you have already picked out a number of candidates to show Caroline and what remains of the Coven," Klaus continued, ignoring Caroline's pointed look at his obvious amusement with the situation. "I need that list."

"Why would I be giving you the list?" Caleb asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Klaus. Caroline would forgive him if he caused the Original just a little bit of pain, right? "You're not part of this Coven."

Klaus glanced over at Caroline, motioning for her to speak. "There are certain witches that Klaus would rather not be allowed permanent residence in the city as he's had most likely murderous encounters with their lineage at some point or other," Caroline told Caleb, watching her friend process that information. "And I'd personally like not putting anyone in the Coven whose sole goal is to try and murder Klaus. I'm fine if they just have a severe distaste for him but it's the whole revenge plot schemes that I really don't want letting into the Coven."

Caleb sighed, hating that she was right. The last thing they needed was to invite witches in who would be trying to bring down the Hybrid. They didn't need another war brought on so soon after the last battles. "He only gets say on who can't come though. Not final say in which we choose out of the rest of the potentials?" Caleb asked, wanting the specifications explained.

Caroline nodded. "Yes. He only gets a say in who can't be in it because of specific reasons. You and the Coven get final say on who out of the rest of the group is allowed in the Coven."

No doubt it would limit the list of potential members and Caleb didn't doubt that Klaus would try and manipulate it to work in his favor somehow, but that just meant that Caleb would be very picky in who he finally did choose. He'd make sure that whoever was chosen in the end would have the nerve to stand up to the Hybrid, that they wouldn't be so easily manipulated, and that they would respect Caroline, that they would do whatever it took to protect her. Shouldn't be too difficult a task to complete.

"Alright," Caleb said, nodding. "I guess we can work with that. I'll send you a list as soon as I'm done finalizing it." He wanted to give the one he had another look through before sending it off now. Make note of who he thought would be most susceptible to the Hybrid and make sure not to pick them.

"Splendid," Klaus replied as he rose. "I suggest we leave now unless you'd like a Davina-like appendage strapped to you again while we see the wolves, love."

Caroline shrugged. "I'm not the one who has issue with her coming along," she pointed out, smiling at Klaus' annoyance as the girl came out carrying a bowl of fruit.

"Oh, are we leaving?" Davina asked, and Klaus glared at the girl, only becoming further irritated by Caleb's laugh.

Klaus took hold of Caroline's arm and flashed the two of them away from the house. Davina sat down next to Caleb, smiling wickedly. "You had no intention of going with them, huh?" Caleb asked, snagging a strawberry from the bowl.

"No," Davina replied with a shrug. "I just like irritating him."

Caleb laughed again, shaking his head as he rose, and headed back inside to get some more work done. He couldn't blame Davina, irritating the Original was fun. He just hoped the girl was smart enough to not get herself killed in the process.

* * *

Klaus stopped flashing once they were near where the building of wolves that they were going to see lived. He did not have the patience to deal with Davina's constant presence and no doubt the girl was simply doing all she did in order to irritate him, to try and get a reaction out of him, but she was an insignificant ant compared to him. Albeit one with powers and potential to be useful when he needed her so while it was tempting to stomp on her and squash her out for annoying him the last few hours, he knew it would be beneficial in the long run to keep her around. Now that she was back at the Coven's place the chances of him having to deal with her except in passing were slim.

He offered Caroline his arm as the two started toward the building, pleased when she accepted it without hesitation. It was such a simple gesture but significant as to how far they had come since they had known one another. Perhaps she would have accepted it a month ago, but there would have been stiffness to her body, an uneasiness at the level of touch passing between them. There was none of that now. Caroline walked beside him with the ease and grace he had come to associate with her, her natural beauty accentuated by the way the sun reflected off her golden curls.

"So which of the wolves are we meeting with today?" Caroline asked, pulling him away from admiring her and she arched a brow at him, wondering where his mind had been in that moment. She was still getting used to the intensity he always seemed to have when he looked at her. She'd seen it before, but it had always been in random moments throughout the week. Now though, she saw it all the time and she didn't think Klaus would ever stop looking at her as he did then. Caroline hoped he wouldn't. She really did love the way he regarded her. It made her feel powerful, sensual.

"Cristiano was able to locate the wolves that had been kidnapped my Malachi. We'll be seeing him and the girl," Klaus nodded toward the building across the street. "Tabatha, I believe is her name. I'm sure you remember her."

"Of course I do," Caroline murmured, wondering how the young werewolf was doing. Being pregnant and having lost the father of her unborn child must have taken a toll on her and Tabatha had been one of the wolves Caroline had wanted to check in on. To see if there was anything else that could be done for her.

"Only one of the wolves died in Malachi's torture chamber. The others will take some time to rest and heal but they'll live," Klaus informed her. He was still furiously annoyed that the vampire had gone directly against his orders. Death would have been too swift of a punishment for him. Torture at Rebekah's hands was much more fitting.

"So I was thinking that after we deal with the Council tonight we should go out. Just you and me," Caroline suggested, and Klaus forced himself not to react to the idea.

"I think that can be arranged," he agreed, even if he doubted she would want to still do so once their meeting with the Council finished.

Klaus let go of Caroline's arm as he stepped forward to knock on the door. He never would have thought about setting the wolves up in houses, of getting them settled into actual lives without Caroline's initiation of the idea. He'd considered crowding them into the apartments scattered in the city as a good enough way to ensure their loyalty. It was better than the squalor they had been living in, uprooting themselves every few days and surviving only in tents that had been falling apart.

But he wanted their loyalty, he  _had_  their loyalty, and Klaus had seen that it wasn't out of fear for what he might do to them, something he hadn't ever truly experienced before. They were loyal to him because he had taken them from the life they had known, that they had accepted as their lot in life, and given them the chance of something greater. Klaus wanted to cultivate that loyalty and have it running through the future generations of the pack and perhaps Caroline had been correct in her honey and vinegar assessment. No doubt he would need to instill fear in them at some point, but it seemed by helping them to build lives in the city was working at the moment and Klaus figured he might as well continue to do so.

There were always the witches to terrorize.

Tabatha opened the door and smiled when she saw who they were, stepping back to let them inside. "Please, come in," she remembered that she needed to invite them. Or well, Klaus needed an invite.

"How are you feeling?" Caroline asked, stopping to talk with the girl as Klaus continued on toward the room the others were in.

"Morning sickness seems to be a thing of the past so I'm doing better," Tabatha told her as she shut the door. "And I think that this house will be a wonderful place to raise the baby."

"If you need anything," Caroline reminded her, pleased when the girl nodded.

"You both have already done so much," Tabatha pointed out, but still smiled, grateful for the thought.

"Well, pack, right?" Caroline asked, trying not to think about how weird that was for her to say. "I'm pretty sure that's what's supposed to happen?" Maybe? She wasn't all that caught up on werewolf pack procedures.

"It is. We help one another, look out for one another," Tabatha replied, watching Caroline for a moment. It looked like there was something else she was trying to come out and say and Caroline wanted to give her the chance to do that. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there when we came out and said I was pregnant. I know I had a number of fears over what might have occurred, but I am very happy with where am I right now. So thank you."

Caroline nodded, not sure what to say to that. She didn't know what would have happened either, a million horror filled outcomes flashing in her head over what Klaus' reaction and solution might have been, but she pushed them to the side. What mattered was what had occurred, not the what ifs. There was no point in wasting time on all the what ifs. She could go crazy if she focused on those. Just because some of her thoughts of what might happen swayed toward the darkest possibilities didn't mean that was what Klaus would have done either. He was a monster, she did know that, but there was no use in adding misdeeds to his list when he hadn't even committed them.

"And I found out I'm having twins."

"Seriously?" Caroline grinned, unable to believe that news. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Tabatha told her, reaching over to grab Caroline's hands and give them a squeeze. Then she nodded toward the room that Klaus had headed into. "I think you're needed in there as well."

"Probably," Caroline admitted, giving the girl one last smile before heading over to join Klaus.

There was no irritatingly smug smile on his face during this meeting even if he did sit in the chair as though he owned the place. Technically, he did. He treated the wolves differently than he did her Coven. It was in the way he actually seemed to be listening to what they were saying even if he might not do what they asked. It was in the way he paid attention to them as they talked instead of waving them off or butting in at any moment to state his own opinion or give a smartass remark. He only stopped looking at the man speaking when she entered, motioning for Caroline to come sit by him.

Caroline walked through the room, still surprised by the fact they all bowed their heads to her as she passed by. Most wolves wanted nothing to do with vampires, but these ones looked to her differently, reverently, and they had been since she'd first come to the city They looked at her with the same significance as they did Klaus, their leader, and Caroline realized that the wolves saw her as their leader as well, that they seemed to think of the two of them as one.

Klaus took hold of her hand, lacing their fingers together as he held it, still listening to what the wolves had to tell. Caroline looked down at their entwined fingers, smiling at the sight. She had dreamed of being a princess when she was little. Had the whole tiara and pretty pink dress ensemble, watched countless Disney movies, and imagined what it would be like to be royalty. The parties and the dresses, the jewelry, the horses.

It had seemed glamorous and she thought it would be a fun life back then when she didn't realize what an undertaking the whole process would actually be. Having others depend on her, the intricacies of the politics that she was still learning even if the situations did remind her a lot of the politics of high school. She'd battled successfully in that world, managed to make a name for herself, had her share of people quaking in fear as she walked by them in the halls, as well as those who looked up to her and valued her opinions. Maybe she had always had that sense of royalty about her and never really known it.

Why would she in Mystic Falls?

Maybe she would have been happy as a human, eventually fulfilling her dream of getting married probably to Tyler, having a few kids and planning town events for the rest of her life. She thinks she might have been. It's a question she will never really know the answer to, a what if that will never be known. It doesn't matter though, not when she's no longer human and fifty more years is a drop in the ocean compared to the length of life she'll lead. What Caroline does know is that settling down in Mystic Falls and planning the town events for the rest of her existence won't ever make her happy now. Just as she had outgrown her shoes and clothes, pink unicorn bedspreads for something more sophisticated, she had outgrown her earlier dreams and replaced them with something else.

Sitting in the room, listening to the others talk to them, and noticing that they wanted her opinion as well as Klaus', Caroline realized she'd been thinking too small when she was little. Why long to be a princess when she was already a queen?

* * *

"I always found it rather fitting that you lot met in a church," Klaus started as he and Caroline entered the church, grinning as the council gathered within rose from their seats at the pews. "I believe the first council thought we might burn up at the sight of the cross. Or if a bit of holy water touched us. Have to admit my brother Kol helped perpetuate that myth for a while. Enjoyed the reaction of surprise and terror from his attacker when they realized their little flask of water did nothing."

He looked over each of the men, noting who all of them were from his own research as he stopped in front of the group, Caroline still at his side. "I'm fairly certain that we need no introductions," Klaus continued, the terror in the men's eyes as they looked between the two of them confirming his suspicions. "Now, I'd be more than happy to dispose of you all, destroy this little council's mere existence and be on my merry way. Alas, Harbinger duties inform me that a council for the humans is needed."

Klaus looked over at Caroline who was shaking her head at his speech. "Isn't that right, love?"

"Yes, and I'd much prefer having one who would look out for the humans best interests," Caroline conceded, glancing over at him. He already knew that about her. They had discussed it on the way over, but it would be good for the Council to know her feelings on the matter as well, right?

"She's a bit optimistic in her outlook," Klaus informed the others, turning his attention back to them. "I blame youth."

"Hey," Caroline protested, but Klaus wasn't done with his speech.

"Fortunately for the humans of New Orleans I enjoy giving into some of her whims and this is one I'll happily acquiesce to," Klaus continued, stepping away from Caroline and toward the others. He knew she wouldn't like him saying that, even if it was true.

Klaus clasped his hands behind his back as he walked, delighting in the fear that was invading his senses. "After all it does me little harm to see to it that there's someone out there making sure my future dinner is being well looked after." Caroline's scoff brought a smile to his face, even if the others only seemed to gulp at the meaning of his words.

"I suppose now we go over what you all will be doing for me-or, excuse me, I meant  _we_." Klaus motioned toward Caroline who still stood in the same spot, arms crossed now and looking unimpressed with him. Her pointed look directed at him clearly indicating that he needed to get to the point already. "I'm not seeking to change anything that Marcel had you lot doing. It seemed to be a mutually beneficial relationship and I see no reason to destroy something that's already working so well.  _So,_  you'll continue to cover up any vampire related deaths at the coroner's office, sweeping them under the rug as you did for Marcel, informing me if any of the corpses suddenly wake up in transition. I do believe that you're on your own now for the homeless population though."

He looked back at Caroline for confirmation on that one. She nodded, her expression showing her distaste for the previous vampires feasting on the homeless of the city. "You're going to need to come up with another means of dealing with them," Klaus told the members of the council as he sat down on one pew. "I don't actually need a cut from all the various dealings he had with some of you, but I see no reason not to take your ill begotten earnings."

"We could always donate them to like the children's ward at the hospital," Caroline pointed out.

"There's that youthful optimism again," Klaus replied, amused by her glare. Though he didn't doubt that was exactly what she would do with that money. "Now, I'm sure I'm forgetting a number of items but you'll adapt. Humans are quite good at that when they need to be. So now, I need a swearing of loyalty and we can all be on our merry way for the evening."

A pin could have dropped, the members of the Council looking at one another, then at Caroline, before finally looking at Klaus. He could see them thinking of taking him up on the deal, of making an oath of loyalty. "Of course," Klaus continued, steepling his hands in his lap. "There's the slight problem that I don't trust any of you to actually keep your word." He rose, pleased when the Council members all took steps back, Caroline watching him carefully, unsure what he was about to do.

"But don't worry, chaps, I've come up with the answer to that slight problem," Klaus informed them, grinning like a madman. "And no, it doesn't require any of your deaths." He pressed his lips together, before sighing. "Well, not now at least. There is the fact that I heard the murmurings happening through the city before I left. My own informants telling me how you think you'll be burning down my house, driving stakes through my body and those of my siblings, of Caroline?" He may have been smiling, but his gaze was full of fury. "I thought of simply killing all of you. It would be easier, but cut the head off a hydra and it only grows more. So. I believe it's time for my surprise to come in."

Klaus let out a whistle and the church doors opened again, Stefan and Rebekah walking in with some terrified women and children following behind. Chaos reigned for a moment, the Council members clearly not happy with the fact their families had been brought into it all, the family members crying from the methods used to corral them across the city.

"I can expect that you've done as I asked, Rebekah?" Klaus inquired, looking over at his sister who nodded in reply. "Splendid. I'm sure you all know one another. Now, if any harm is to come to me or mine your families have been compelled to kill themselves in the most gruesome ways possible. Even your children." The sobs from the family members seemed to confirm his words for the Council who all looked at him with hatred mixed with dread. There was no doubt in their minds that such a compulsion had been created. "I'd offer a demonstration but…"

Klaus stepped back away from the remaining members, hands outstretched in victory. "I believe we'll have a lot of fun working together, gentlemen," he told them, smirking at the despair and animosity directed toward him as he turned to face Caroline.

He couldn't read her expression, couldn't figure out what was happening inside of her head. He almost didn't offer her his hand, not wanting to taste the rejection, but did so out of habit. Klaus couldn't believe it when she took hold, linking their fingers together and walked out of the building at his side; Stefan and Rebekah following on their heels.

"Next time you want twenty plus people compelled, have the decency to do it yourself," Rebekah groused, glaring at her brother. "Especially when they're all living at different places."

"I'm sorry; did ensuring your safety interfere with your plans?" Klaus asked, arching a brow at her, unable to help but grin at her annoyed flounce.

"I don't know how Caroline puts up with you," Rebekah told him, smirking at Klaus' annoyance at that particular statement.

"Same could be said for Stefan in regards to you," Caroline teased back, trying not to laugh at the other girl's indignant expression.

"Well, if we're only going to be insulted, I think it's time to leave. I'd like to get back to torturing Malachi some more," Rebekah informed them, huffing in annoyance. "Coming, Stefan?"

"It sounds like more fun than being stuck with these two," Stefan agreed, and Caroline gasped at that, reaching over to push the other vampire.

"You are so losing best friend points for that comment," she told him, but was pleased to see that he was still in good spirits.

Stefan flashed her a grin before heading off with Rebekah. Caroline shook her head, looking over at Klaus as they resumed walking, heading nowhere in particular. "So, I have to ask.  _When_  in the world did you even have time to plan that?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"When you and Davina were ordering food at the restaurant I excused myself to answer Elijah's call," Klaus reminded her, watching as she nodded, clearly remembering the moment. "After speaking to him about the successful cleanup of yesterday's incident, I spoke with Rebekah and informed her of what I needed done. It was compulsion of their families or kill the entire Council."

"Wouldn't killing the entire Council have been easier for you?" Caroline asked, looking up at him as she stopped walking, causing him to falter his steps as well. She had a feeling she knew why he hadn't resorted to a death sentence for each of them, but she wanted to hear him say it.

"Perhaps," Klaus admitted, reaching out to stroke a strand of her curls. "Then I'd have needed to break in a new one though and this one was working out quite fine for Marcel. I see no need to fix what isn't exactly broken." He smiled as she rolled her eyes before she turned to start walking again, but he stopped her with a gentle touch to her arm. "You said you tired of all the death."

Caroline sighed at that. "I am," she told him, unable to deny it. "I know there will be more along the way. I'm not that naive, you know? But I appreciate the whole other approach you did today." She paused, frowning slightly as she scrunched her nose. "Which, actually, might be even more diabolical than simply killing them."

Klaus laughed at that, it was true. Forcing their hands with their families lives was probably more nefarious a deed than killing the lot in one fell swoop. "We're quite a pair," Caroline continued, taking hold of one of his hands as she tugged him down the street and toward where the music and laughter could be heard.

Caroline stopped walking again and Klaus arched a brow, wondering what she was needing to say then and why it couldn't be done as they walked. He didn't like the seriousness of her expression, wondering again what she was thinking about.

"You told me once that we were the same, do you remember that?" Caroline asked, and Klaus nodded, remembering the events that had led up to that moment. "I didn't believe you then. I was so mad at you. Obviously I was. It was a chaotic time for everyone. But you were right. We are the same in a lot of ways and we're different in others and I never really expected this to happen. Or maybe I did expect it? But not like  _now_. Not this soon, you know?"

From his confusion she had a feeling that he didn't know. "Like, okay, it was nice to have attention that was solely focused on me and not to try and win favor Elena in some way. And you're easy to talk to and you help me be...I don't know if it's better. I don't know the word I want to use there. But I like who I am with you. I don't feel like I'm second best. I feel like I could take on the entire world if I had to. I kinda did. A little. Silas wasn't really the world and neither was Marcel, but…." She sighed, letting go of his hand and raking her hands through her hair as she tried to get her thoughts to be more coherent.

"Caroline," Klaus started, and she shook her head at him.

"I need to say this, please," she pleaded, taking a deep breath when he nodded for her to continue. "We're all monsters. We've all done horrible, terrible, awful things. Sometimes to each other. We've all got darkness to us and we all have light-even if some of us try to hide that part of ourselves. And you're going to keep on doing terrible things, I know that. But I remember what Stefan said when we were talking about you once. The difference between you and us then was we had a family we could always rely on."

Caroline took another breath and a step toward Klaus. "And I guess what I'm trying to say in my own convoluted way is you can rely on me," she continued and offered up a small smile. "I love you."

Caroline didn't think she would ever be able to adequately describe the pure happiness that seemed to envelope Klaus' expression in that moment. It was a mix of excitement, of fear, and victory all rolled into one that seemed to just spread out all over his face, through his body, and he pulled her to him, kissing her as though he would never get enough of her. Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss and letting him hold her tighter against his body. She laughed as they broke apart, both smiling as their foreheads touched.

"Say it again," he implored, his expression growing serious. He needed to hear it again, needed to know he hadn't imagined her saying it.

"I love you," Caroline told him, pressing a kiss to his jaw. She giggled when he growled, nuzzling at her neck and making her eyes shut at the sensation. "I love you."

Klaus pulled back, hands cupping her face. "I love you," he told her before devouring her mouth again. His kisses seemed to burn her skin, his touch igniting a fire within her as he pulled her hard against his body, needing her to be as close as possible to him. Forever, they seemed to say. Mine, they seemed to echo.

Caroline kissed him back just as hard, crushing him to her as well, wanting him to realize that her own touches reciprocated those meanings. "I believe you told me that you were going to show me some great art and music," Caroline reminded him as they broke apart, still holding onto another, foreheads touching.

"And food," Klaus added, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he steered her toward the French Quarter, keeping one arm wrapped around her waist to keep her close.

Caroline grinned as they stepped nearer to the music. Maybe she didn't know what the future held. Maybe there would be as many ups as there were downs, but walking with Klaus into the frenzy that was Bourbon Street, Caroline couldn't help but think she finally wasn't scared of what forever meant anymore. She was looking forward to it, anticipating what they might face next, where the road might lead. It wouldn't be perfect, nothing ever was. There would be fights and hardships, many tears and anger along the way. But there would be good moments as well and maybe it was naive of her, but she really did think their love for one another would help them get through the darkest times.

It was a time for a new chapter of her life to start, a new journey to begin, and maybe she wouldn't have her mother there in her corner anymore. There would be no Bonnie and probably no Elena. But she had others. Caleb, Davina, Stefan, Rebekah, even Elijah. The wolves of the city. The witches and the rest of her Coven.

She had Klaus.

And Caroline thought that made her luckier than countless others.

"What is going on in that head of yours?" Klaus asked, looking down at her as they were swallowed by the crowd making their way down the street.

"I was just thinking that this is the part where the king and queen get into the horse drawn carriage and ride off into the sunset," Caroline informed him with a wink.

"No carriages or horses around right now, love, but I think I could slaughter that young man over there and take you around on the Vespa he's riding," Klaus told her, pointing over to the young man in question.

"Seriously?!" Caroline shoved him in the shoulder at his answering laugh.

"I'll take that as a no," Klaus replied, grinning as he pulled her close. "How about that one for his Lamborghini?"

Caroline rolled her eyes at him, not at all surprised by his joke. "Just shut up and kiss me."

And he did.

The world didn't stop spinning, there was no big musical swell like in the movies, but it was enough to be standing there together, listening to the heartbeat of New Orleans and knowing they had both found someone they could rely on, someone they loved until the end of time. And wasn't that something for a man who was thought to be incapable of love and a girl who was always believed herself to not be good enough for it?


End file.
